Science Advisory Board
The Toxics Use Reduction Act of 1989 created a Science Advisory Board (SAB) to work with the Institute as described in Chapter 211, Section 6, line 496.
The Board's primary role is to consider petitions to add or delete chemicals from the TURA chemical list and make recommendations to the Institute accordingly. The Institute may call on the SAB for scientific or technical advice concerning other TURA-related issues.
SAB Role in implementing the New TURA Amendments
In July of 2006, the Massachusetts legislature voted to amend the Toxics Use Reduction Act (TURA) to encourage Massachusetts companies to move further along the path of reducing toxic chemical use. Among other items, the law now states that the TURA Administrative Council may designate up to 10 higher hazard chemicals and up to 10 lower hazard chemicals each year.
The Institute will advise the Council as to which substances from the list should be designated higher or lower hazard chemicals, based on recommendations from the TURA Science Advisory Board and an analysis of the policy implications.
Lower threshold may bring additional facilities into the TURA Program
For the designated higher hazard chemicals, the threshold for reporting will be lowered from 25,000 pounds for manufactured or processed chemicals, or 10,000 pounds for chemicals otherwise used, to 1,000 pounds. These designations are expected to bring additional facilities into the TURA Program.
When the Administrative Council designates higher hazard substances, companies who use any of those chemicals will become part of the TURA Program if they:
- Either manufacture, process or otherwise use 1,000 pounds or more of the higher hazard substance
- Have ten or more full-time employees on staff, and
- Conduct business activities according to certain Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes
What will Massachusetts companies have to do?
If a company meets the requirements above for the higher hazard chemicals, if they are not already, they will become part of the Massachusetts TURA Program that requires companies to submit toxics use reduction plans, receive training, report chemical use, and pay fees. Please note that while companies must plan, the decision to actually implement the plan is voluntary.
The designation of the 10 lower hazard chemicals will only affect companies who currently report use of those chemicals. They will still have to plan and report use but they will no longer have to pay the $1,100 fee for each lower hazard chemical per year.
It is expected that the first such designations will be made before the end of calendar year 2007, and the new reporting requirements would apply to the 2008 calendar year reporting (i.e. reports due in 2009).
For more information, please contact TURI Program Manager Heather Tenney at Heather@turi.org, 978-934-3260.
This page updated Wednesday June 25 2008