EDF Health: Lautenberg Act

In the face of mounting evidence about the dangers posed by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), one thing is clear: EPA needs to take urgent action to turn off the tap of these “forever chemicals” that have long-term consequences for our health and the environment. As we discussed in a previous blog, it is imperative […]

The post Now’s the Time—How EPA can use TSCA to turn off the PFAS tap first appeared on EDF Health.

    What Happened? EDF and other environmental groups recently asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw the approval it issued for a group of new chemicals. This approval, also known as a consent order, allows Chevron to create fuels at its refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi, by using oils produced through a process of […]

The post Fatally Flawed: EDF & partners call on EPA to revoke approval for new chemicals with shocking health risks first appeared on EDF Health.

PFAS is a group of synthetic chemicals used in industrial processes and consumer products, including water-repellent clothing, such as outdoor wear, and food packaging. Once these “forever chemicals” are produced and used, they often make their way into the environment and our bodies. Many pose serious threats due to their toxic effects (often at trace […]

The post EPA Should Use U.S. Chemical Safety Law to Turn Off PFAS Tap first appeared on EDF Health.

PFAS is a group of synthetic chemicals used in industrial processes and consumer products, including water-repellent clothing, such as outdoor wear, and food packaging. Once these “forever chemicals” are produced and used, they often make their way into the environment and our bodies. Many pose serious threats due to their toxic effects (often at trace […]

The post EPA Should Use U.S. Chemical Safety Law to Turn Off PFAS Tap first appeared on EDF Health.

Maria Doa, PhD, Senior Director, Chemicals Policy Innovation may involve bringing a new chemical to market, but before the new chemical can be used or sold, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the nation’s primary chemical safety law, directs EPA to conduct a safety assessment. Specifically, EPA must affirmatively determine whether a new chemical may […]

The post Public deserves strong safety reviews for chemicals first appeared on EDF Health.

Cumulative Risk Assessment Framework: A Tool to Spur Improved TSCA Risk Evaluations Wednesday, September 7, 2022 1:00–2:00 p.m. (ET) Join the EDF Safer Chemicals team and our academic partners from the University of Maryland and the University of Rochester as we debut a new tool, the Cumulative Risk Assessment Framework, to support implementation of the […]

The post Upcoming EDF Webinar: Register Now! first appeared on EDF Health.

Maria Doa, Ph.D., Senior Director, Chemicals Policy EPA has made the important and long-awaited decision to propose banning nearly all remaining uses of chrysotile asbestos in the United States. EDF submitted comments supporting this proposed ban (with some caveats) because of the high risk of cancer and fatal respiratory diseases for individuals who import, process, […]

The post EPA Takes Important Step to Ban Chrysotile Asbestos first appeared on EDF Health.

EPA’s proposed TSCA rule to limit risks from chrysotile asbestos uses a higher “acceptable” cancer risk for workers than the rest of the population Maria Doa, Ph.D., Senior Director, Chemicals Policy When it comes to drawing the line on cancer risks, should workers be treated differently than the general population? Of course not. Unfortunately, EPA’s […]

The post Workers are people too; EPA should treat them that way first appeared on EDF Health.

Lindsay McCormick, Program Manager and Richard Denison, Ph.D., Lead Senior Scientist When Congress reformed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in 2016, it authorized EPA to require companies to pay fees to help defray the agency’s costs of administering this extensive new law.  EPA finalized the first “fee rule” in 2018 to establish the payment […]

The post At all costs: Failings of Trump EPA’s proposed TSCA fee rule first appeared on EDF Health.

Robert Stockman is a Senior Attorney.  Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. Yesterday the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a landmark case involving a challenge to EPA’s so-called “framework rules” that lay out how it will implement core provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) as amended in 2016 by the […]

The post The Court’s TSCA decision is a much bigger win for public health than first meets the eye first appeared on EDF Health.

Sam Lovell, Project Manager. Today, EDF released a report detailing the major threats to public health and future generations from the Trump Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) attacks on the 2016 chemical safety law. Just three years after Congress passed bipartisan legislation, the Lautenberg Act, to overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), implementation of the […]

The post New Report: Toxic Consequences – Trump’s Attacks on Chemical Safety Put Our Health at Risk first appeared on EDF Health.

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. Tacoma, WA 1972 As we approach the third anniversary of the historic passage of bipartisan legislation to overhaul our nation’s broken chemical safety system, we’re hearing that political appointees at the agency are gearing up to celebrate their “successes” in implementing the law.[pullquote]Even more disturbing than its individual […]

The post The Trump EPA is setting back chemicals policies by decades first appeared on EDF Health.

Court strongly rebukes Trump EPA’s unlawful attempts to scale back transparency requirements (April 26, 2019 – Washington, D.C.) Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit delivered a strong rebuke to the Trump Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) implementation of the nation’s chemical safety law, protecting key aspects of the public’s right to know about the […]

The post D.C. Circuit Affirms Public’s Right to Know about Chemicals in Use under Reformed Law first appeared on EDF Health.

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. Part 1          Part 2         Part 3 I have been blogging in the last few weeks about myths the chemical industry is perpetrating about the adequacy and legality of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent reviews of the risks that chemicals just […]

The post PART 3: Busting more industry-perpetrated myths about new chemicals and worker protection under TSCA first appeared on EDF Health.

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. Part 1          Part 2         Part 3 I started blogging last week about myths the chemical industry is perpetrating when it comes to EPA’s review of the risks new chemicals may present to workers.  In this post, I address another such myth, […]

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. Part 1          Part 2         Part 3 This week the House Energy & Commerce Committee held a hearing on EPA’s failures to protect workers from chemical risks.  It featured a number of compelling testimonies from worker representatives:  auto workers, firefighters, teachers, and […]

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. Tomorrow, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on the Environment and Climate Change will hold an oversight hearing on “Mismanaging Chemical Risks: EPA’s Failure to Protect Workers.” In advance of the hearing, Environmental Defense Fund lead senior scientist, Dr. Richard Denison, made the following statement: “Under the […]

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. [For more on this topic, see our recent 3-part myth-busting series: Part 1          Part 2         Part 3] We have blogged before (see here and here) about the steps initiated in mid-2018 by the Trump EPA to weaken new chemical reviews under […]

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. Today, Heidi Vogt at the Wall Street Journal reported on the systematic efforts by the Trump Administration to derail chemical assessments under the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS).    The WSJ article cites an upcoming report by Congress’ Government Accountability Office (GAO) that notes “EPA […]

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. Regular readers of this blog know it is our view that, under the Trump EPA, implementation of the 2016 reforms to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has pretty much gone off the rails, deviating from what the law requires, failing to reflect the best available science, and […]