--- ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) # Frank Lautenberg: The Senate Loses an Environmental Champion by [Bryan Walsh](https://time.com/author/bryan-walsh/) Jun 4, 2013 11:53 AM UTC  WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 29: U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) (C) speaks to members of the press as he arrives at the weekly Senate Democratic Policy Luncheon at the U.S. Capitol January 29, 2013 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Senate Democrats gathered at the luncheon to discuss Senate Democratic agendas. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 29: U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) (C) speaks to members of the press as he arrives at the weekly Senate Democratic Policy Luncheon at the U.S. Capitol January 29, 2013 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Senate Democrats gathered at the luncheon to discuss Senate Democratic agendas. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)Getty Images—2013 Getty Images by [Bryan Walsh](https://time.com/author/bryan-walsh/) Jun 4, 2013 11:53 AM UTC As a fifth-term senator, [New Jersey](http://topics.time.com/new-jersey/)‘s Frank Lautenberg—who died June 3 at the age of 89—had more than enough time in office to put his stamp on a wide variety of legislation. You can read the full [_New York Times_ obituary](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/nyregion/frank-lautenberg-new-jersey-senator.html?pagewanted=all) to get a sense of the scope of the career of the last World War II veteran to serve in the Senate. As a reliably liberal senator, he will probably be best remembered for his successful fights against the alcohol and tobacco industries—including leading the effort in 1989 to ban [smoking](http://topics.time.com/smoking/) on commercial flights. (Yes, less than 25 years ago people could actually smoke on airplanes, something that now seems practically prehistoric.) Environmentalists have special reason to mourn Lautenberg’s loss. He was a steadfast champion of public transportation, including [Amtrak](http://topics.time.com/amtrak/). But his real achievements were at the intersection of public health and the environment—especially on toxic industrial chemicals. He authored the “Toxic Right to Know” act,which gave the public the ability to find out what toxic chemicals were being released into their neighborhood—a key piece of legislation in New Jersey, which might be called the Garden State but which long been home to a [polluting chemical industry](http://www.northjersey.com/specialreports/full/toxiclandscape.html). more **(MORE:** [**The Perils of Plastic**](http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/printout/0,29239,1976909%5F1976908%5F1976938,00.html)**)** Andy Igrejas, the executive director of the nonprofit Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families group and a New Jersey native, put Lautenberg’s accomplishments [into perspective](http://ens-newswire.com/2013/06/03/senator-frank-lautenberg-environmental-champion-passes-away/): --- > “” --- Lautenberg was still working on toxic chemical reform when he died in office. For years he was the driving force in the efforts to update the nearly 40-year-old Toxic Substance Control Act (TCSA), the outdated law that deals with nearly all industrial chemicals, including household ones like those found in plastics. Even the chemical industry has come to agree that some reform is needed for TCSA, which hasn’t been updated since it was signed into law in 1976\. The burden of proving that new chemicals are dangerous falls almost entirely on the government, even as industry confidentiality privileges deny regulators the information they need to make informed decisions. In the years since TCSA was enacted, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has only put limits on a handful of dangerous chemicals, and has largely been unable to respond to new science indicating possible risks from widespread chemicals like bisphenol-A. Less than two weeks before his death, Lautenberg and Republican Senator David Vitter [announced an agreement](http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2013/05/progess-chemical-regulation-last) on new legislation that would update TCSA. The bill would require the EPA review the safety of all chemicals—TCSA allowed a number to simply be grandfathered in—and would close some of the loopholes that allow chemical companies to claim confidentiality. Many environmentalists weren’t happy with the bill, but the very fact that Vitter decided to sign on—he’s a chemical industry booster—gave it a better chance of actually making it into law. It’s [not clear](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/06/03/lautenberg-left-a-lasting-mark-on-public-health/) what the chances of TCSA reform are now that Lautenberg is gone. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, [will name an interim replacement](http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/03/politics/lautenberg-christie/index.html) who will almost certainly be far more conservative than Lautenberg was. Even if Newark Mayor Cory Booker runs and wins a special election to fill Lautenberg’s seat for a full term, as most expect, he’ll neither have Lautenberg’s seniority nor, possibly, his passion for chemical safety. “We can’t permit this assault on our children’s health — and our own health — to continue,” Lautenberg [told me in 2009](http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/printout/0,29239,1976909%5F1976908%5F1976938,00.html). Someone else will have to carry on that fight now. **(MORE:** [**The Changing Sea: Squid Will Be Vulnerable to Ocean Acidification**](http://science.time.com/2013/06/03/the-changing-sea-squid-will-be-vulnerable-to-ocean-acidification/)[ ](http://science.time.com/2013/06/03/the-changing-sea-squid-will-be-vulnerable-to-ocean-acidification/)) Frank Lautenberg: The Senate Loses an Environmental Champion ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7182304/frank-lautenberg-the-senate-loses-an-environmental-champion/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7182304/frank-lautenberg-the-senate-loses-an-environmental-champion/"},"headline":"Frank Lautenberg: The Senate Loses an Environmental Champion","datePublished":"2013-06-04T11:53:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-18T06:58:16.645Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/archive/7182304/frank-lautenberg-the-senate-loses-an-environmental-champion/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt83f246f53e997f3f/698a9d91457a5268f2d718de/senator-frank-lautenberg.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Bryan Walsh","url":"https://time.com/author/bryan-walsh/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt83f246f53e997f3f/698a9d91457a5268f2d718de/senator-frank-lautenberg.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Senate Democrats Speak To The Press After Policy Luncheon","caption":"Senate Democrats Speak To The Press After Policy Luncheon","creditText":"Getty Images—2013 Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7182304/frank-lautenberg-the-senate-loses-an-environmental-champion/","name":"Frank Lautenberg: The Senate Loses an Environmental Champion"}}]}] ```