EDF Health

By Maria Doa, PhD, Senior Director, Chemicals Policy, Maricel Maffini, PhD, Consultant, and Liora Fiksel, Project Manager, Healthy Communities   What happened You may have seen news or online content from FDA about chemicals in our foods, including that our food – and everything else in the world – is made up of chemicals. FDA’s […]

The post FDA Says We Are All Made of Chemicals So How Can Any Be Bad For You? first appeared on EDF Health.

By Maricel Maffini, PhD, Consultant, and Tom Neltner, Executive Director, Unleaded Kids What’s Happening? On February 9, 2024, the European Commission published a proposed regulation [PDF, 502KB] that would ban most uses of bisphenol A (BPA) in materials that contact food—including plastic and coatings applied to metal cans—and restrict other uses. Interested parties can comment […]

The post EU gets ready to ban most BPA uses. Once again: Where’s FDA? first appeared on EDF Health.

What’s New Today, we are excited to introduce the Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) latest initiative—the Chemical Exposure Action Map. This tool is designed to spur the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to transform the assessment of risks posed by toxic chemicals in our communities. Our map focuses on multiple high-priority chemicals—making visible the urgent and long-overdue […]

The post Unveiling EDF’s Chemical Exposure Action Map first appeared on EDF Health.

What’s New Earlier this week EDF submitted comments that urged EPA to finalize the strongest possible improvements to the Lead and Copper Rule (LCRI). An estimated 9.2 million lead service lines (LSLs) are still connected to homes and buildings throughout the country. EPA’s proposal is a critical step to protect Americans from the harmful of […]

The post Lead Pipes: EDF comments on EPA’s proposed Lead & Copper Rule Improvements first appeared on EDF Health.

By Liora Fiksel, Project Manager, Healthy Communities, and Lisa Lefferts, Environmental Health Consultant What’s Happening? On December 21, 2023, FDA filed a food-additive petition and a color-additive petition submitted by EDF and partners that asks FDA to revoke its approval for four carcinogenic chemicals approved for use in food. There is broad agreement that benzene, […]

The post Why are four notorious carcinogens approved by FDA for food? first appeared on EDF Health.

By Maricel Maffini, PhD, Consultant, and Tom Neltner, JD What Happened In December 2023, FDA’s scientists published a new study showing that when pregnant rats ingest a form of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substance (PFAS) called 6:2 fluorotelomer alcohol (6:2 FTOH) their bodies break it down into other PFAS that reach the fetuses and biopersist […]

The post FDA’s latest study reaffirms short-chain PFAS biopersist. Now it must act. first appeared on EDF Health.

In our previous blogs in this multipart series, we have focused on some of the major changes we believe EPA needs to make in its review process for new chemicals—and how EPA could propose regulations to make those reviews safer. In this post, we want to walk you through why EPA must set rules that […]

The post EPA’s new chemical review process: A thought experiment first appeared on EDF Health.

What’s New? EPA has proposed improvements to the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) to reduce lead in drinking water. The proposed rule would require utilities to eliminate the nation’s roughly 9.2 million lead service lines (LSLs) at an estimated cost of $2.1 to $2.9 billion per year.1 The socioeconomic benefits from the rule vastly outweigh […]

The post Eliminating lead service lines yields huge benefits for reducing premature cardiovascular deaths first appeared on EDF Health.

By Cassie Huang, MPH, Project Manager, Consumer Health Note: This blog is cross-posted from the EDF + Business blog. Products, Packaging & Waste Amid growing concerns about the environmental impact of single-use plastics, consumers have increasingly sought out alternatives made with renewable materials—as demonstrated by the rise in popularity of the paper straw. Unfortunately, this […]

The post New updates to understanding packaging scorecard spur a safer & more sustainable foodservice industry first appeared on EDF Health.

NOTE: This blog was originally published on our Deep Dives blog on April 13, 2023. It predates the recent reorganization efforts at FDA. What Happened? FDA estimates that, each year, food companies designate 82 new food chemicals as “GRAS” (Generally Recognized as Safe) for use in food. On average, FDA reviews only 64 of those […]

The post ICYMI: Secret GRAS determinations may outnumber those FDA reviews first appeared on EDF Health.

 We only have until December 15, 2023, to show EPA we support a full and rapid ban of all uses of TCE. Take Action: Tell EPA–Ban TCE Now What Happened? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently taken a significant step in safeguarding public health by proposing new regulations under our nation’s primary chemicals […]

The post EPA’s TCE ban: A vital step for public health first appeared on EDF Health.

What’s Happening? The North Carolina Departments of Health & Human Services and Agriculture & Consumer Services identified WanaBana cinnamon applesauce pouches as a source for elevated blood lead levels in multiple children. They found extraordinarily high concentrations of lead (1,900- 5,100 ppb) in the products, leading to the identification of at least 34 cases of […]

The post Unleaded Food: FDA acts quickly on contaminated applesauce first appeared on EDF Health.

What Happened? Last month, FDA’s scientists published the toxicological reference value (TRV) for exposure to cadmium in the diet. This value is the amount of a chemical—in this case cadmium—a person can consume in their daily diet that would not be expected to cause adverse health effects and can be used for food safety decision-making. […]

The post FDA’s approach to systematic review of chemicals got off on the wrong foot first appeared on EDF Health.

NOTE: This is the fifth in a series about EPA’s regulation of new chemicals. See below under Go Deeper for links to the other blogs in the series. What Happened? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed new regulations for its safety reviews of new chemicals under our nation’s primary chemicals law, the Toxic Substances […]

The post EPA’s New Chemical Regulations: Backtracking on PBTs first appeared on EDF Health.

By Maria Doa, PhD, Senior Director, Chemicals Policy, and Colin Parts, Legal Fellow NOTE: This is the fourth in a series about EPA’s regulation of new chemicals. See below under Go Deeper for links to the other blogs in the series. What Happened? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed new regulations for its safety […]

The post EPA’s New Chemical Regulations: Industry Bias Must Be Fixed first appeared on EDF Health.

By Maria J. Doa, PhD, Senior Director, Chemicals Policy, and Greg Schweer, Consultant NOTE: This is the third in a series about EPA’s regulation of new chemicals. See below under Go Deeper for links to other blogs in the series. What Happened? EPA recently proposed regulations to govern how it reviews companies’ pre-manufacture notifications for […]

The post New Chemicals Rule: EPA must require more info from industry first appeared on EDF Health.

What’s Happening? The chemical industry has an extensive—and ongoing—history of complaining about how long it takes EPA to do new chemical safety reviews. The irony is that industry is the very player causing the delays in EPA’s review process. Clear data indicate that chemical manufacturers are primarily responsible for the length of EPA’s reviews and […]

The post Industry is Scapegoating EPA for New Chemical Review Delays first appeared on EDF Health.

Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals and Katelyn Roedner Sutter, State Director, California What Happened? On October 10, 2023, California Assembly Bill 899, authored by Assembly Member Al Muratsuchi, became law. It requires manufacturers of baby food (other than infant formula) who wish to sell their products in California to: Test a representative sample of […]

The post California mandates toxics testing/disclosure for baby food first appeared on EDF Health.

NOTE: This is the second in a series about EPA’s regulation of new chemicals. What Happened? EPA recently proposed new regulations for its safety reviews of new chemicals under our nation’s main chemicals law, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). With this action, the agency has a big chance to solve major problems that have […]

The post EPA: Now’s Your Chance to Get Foxes Out of the Henhouse first appeared on EDF Health.

By Maria Doa, PhD, Senior Director, Chemicals Policy, Samantha Liskow, Senior Counsel, and Colin Parts, Legal Fellow NOTE: This is the first of a series about EPA’s regulation of new chemicals. What Happened? EPA recently proposed regulations to govern how it reviews companies’ pre-manufacture notifications for new chemicals before those chemicals can go on the […]

The post Time for a New Age for New Chemicals first appeared on EDF Health.