Lloyd Bentsen: “I rise today to offer my amendment to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from using any fund to allow the…”

“I rise today to offer my amendment to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from using any fund to allow the importation of PCB waste to be incinerated in the United States. Mr. Chairman, it is a simple proposition that we should not be in the business of importing more hazardous waste into the United States. It is particularly disturbing that the Federal Government would agree to import PCB's when such a decision flies in the face of scientific evidence, our international trade agreements, and most importantly, our constituents' health and safety. On March 18, 1996, the EPA issued a final rule allowing the importation of large quantities of polychlorinated biphenyls, reversing a ban that had been in place since 1980. PCB's are a dangerous class of chemicals used in electrical insulation and other products that cause adverse health effects, including cancer, reproductive damage, and birth defects. The March 18 rule gives a blanket authority to domestic waste incinerators to import PCB's with no new regulation or oversight by EPA. It is a bad idea and it is a fatally flawed rule. We know from scientific research that PCB's accumulate in the environment and move toward the top of the food chain, contaminating fish, birds, and ultimately, humans. When incinerated, PCB's release dioxin, one of the most toxic chemicals known to man. As a result, PCB's are the only chemical that Congress identified for phaseout under the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976.”