New Proposal in Congress Would Gut Key Provisions of Landmark Chemical Safety Law, Putting Families’ Health at Risk

(WASHINGTON – February 26, 2026) A new U.S. Senate draft bill would dismantle core protections of the nation's main chemical safety law and make it easier for toxic chemicals to enter homes, schools and workplaces, according to the Alliance for Health and Safe Chemicals, a national coalition of organizations and networks. 

The group issued an urgent warning following the release of draft legislation to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the bipartisan law Congress overhauled in 2016. The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) has announced a hearing on the discussion draft scheduled for March 4, 2026.

A separate U.S. House proposal that would gut TSCA surfaced in January, signaling a coordinated effort to roll back protections against toxic chemicals and undermine the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to protect public health. 

The new proposals would: 

• Allow more dangerous chemicals onto the market without meaningful EPA review and approval.
• Give the chemical industry more power to override independent science and health protections for families, workers and communities.
• Allow loopholes for toxic chemicals.
• Undermine the ability of states to protect their residents, drinking water and food from toxic chemicals.

“Children's health must come first, yet the chemical industry is now lobbying to weaken the chemical law that protects our families,” said the Alliance for Health and Safe Chemicals in a joint statement. “Rolling back chemical safety protections will make it harder to keep toxic chemicals linked to cancer, learning disabilities, and infertility out of our lives. Americans should be able to trust that any chemicals in their homes, schools, workplaces, and communities won't make them sick.”

Public support for chemical safety protections remains strong across party lines, with overwhelming bipartisan backing for EPA’s authority to review and restrict dangerous chemicals. The Alliance noted that rolling back TSCA would not only increase health risks but also create uncertainty for businesses that have already adapted to the law’s requirements.

The Alliance for Health and Safe Chemicals brings together leading organizations and networks in a coordinated effort to defend TSCA from rollbacks and fight for strong health protections from toxic chemicals. Passage of the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act in 2016 with overwhelming bipartisan support modernized TSCA to ensure that new chemicals are reviewed for safety before entering the marketplace and that EPA can act on dangerous chemicals that harm the health of children, workers, and communities. Since then, EPA has used this authority to ban deadly asbestos and methylene chloride, restrict cancer-causing chemicals like trichloroethylene (TCE), and block certain PFAS from entering commerce.

Additional Quotes from Alliance Members

“Northern and Arctic Indigenous Peoples suffer some of the highest exposures to persistent toxic chemicals and disease burdens of any population on earth. Weakening TSCA will strip the law of its provisions to prevent harmful and cumulative exposures to persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals,’’ said Pamela Miller, Executive Director of Alaska Community Action on Toxics.

“With breast cancer rates unacceptably high in the U.S. and rising among younger women, we cannot weaken federal safeguards against cancer-causing and hormone-disrupting chemicals in our products and environment,” said Nancy Buermeyer, Director of Program and Policy at Breast Cancer Prevention Partners. “Preventing toxic exposures is essential to protecting women’s health and reducing breast cancer risk.”

“Reopening TSCA will lead to the increased proliferation of chemical recycling, which has an abysmal track record, does nothing to solve the plastic crisis, and in fact puts even more toxic chemicals into our environment,” said Judith Enck, former EPA Regional Administrator and President of Beyond Plastics. 

“Every community is harmed by toxic chemicals. But communities living near the facilities where these chemicals are manufactured have some of the highest rates of cancer, asthma, and COPD in the nation,” said Dr. Jamala Djinn, Science and Policy Advisor at Break Free From Plastic. “Since the 2016 amendments to TSCA, EPA has taken concrete steps to begin to protect these communities from the thousands of different chemicals they’re simultaneously being exposed to. If this proposal were to become law, it would eliminate any progress made and further endanger these communities.” 

“Regardless of political party, the American public has been clear: it does not want to be poisoned by toxic chemicals,” said Earthjustice Action Vice President of Policy and Legislation Raúl García. “Still, Republican congressional leadership insists on weakening the most significant tool we have to protect our families from toxics. These proposals would unravel the EPA’s authority to review new and existing chemicals and assess their risks to human health while undermining science’s role in federal decision-making. It’s a wishlist for the chemical industry that would lead to a more toxic environment and more poisoned children. We urge Congress to reject them.” 

“Americans across party lines oppose weakening our bedrock chemical safety protections,” said Joanna Slaney, Environmental Defense Fund Vice President for Political and Government Affairs. “The Toxic Substances Control Act helps keep the worst toxic chemicals out of our homes and communities, and it was passed with bipartisan support. Attempts to weaken the Toxic Substances Control Act would only put public health at risk.”

“This proposal is a dangerous giveaway that lets the chemical industry fast-track new chemicals into everyday products without requiring companies to prove they’re safe,” said Melanie Benesh, Vice President of Government Affairs at the Environmental Working Group. "It hands manufacturers a free pass while consumers and families shoulder the risk. Americans shouldn’t be unwitting test subjects for chemicals in their food, water, homes, and workplaces.”

"Cancer. Infertility. Developmental delays in children. All three are linked to exposure to toxic chemicals, and this proposal would make it easier to put these harmful chemicals into our food, products, water, and air, regardless of the damage to the health of people. Instead of creating a glide path for increased toxic pollution, the Senate should be rejecting the chemical industry’s bid to make America more contaminated so it can further line its pockets,” said Avi Kar, Director of Toxics at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). 

“For years, states have acted to protect residents from toxic chemicals when federal safeguards fell short,” said Gretchen Salter, Policy Director with Safer States. “Weakening TSCA ignores the public’s demand for stronger protections. Lawmakers should reinforce and strengthen national health protections, not undermine them. Families deserve consistent, science-based safeguards no matter where they live.”

“The Senate draft turns back the clock on protecting the health of our families and communities from toxic chemicals,” said Liz Hitchcock, Director of Federal Policy at Toxic-Free Future. “Congress should stop dangerous chemicals before they contaminate our food, our homes, and our children’s bodies. Instead, they are proposing to weaken protections so there are even more toxic chemicals that can increase cancer, infertility, and other serious health harms.”

About the Alliance for Health and Safe Chemicals

The Alliance for Health and Safe Chemicals is a national coalition of organizations and networks united around the principle: put people’s health first. The Alliance fights for national protections to prevent harm from toxic chemicals that contribute to cancer, infertility, learning disabilities, and other health challenges. We work for justice and health for all, wherever you live, work, and play.

The Alliance is a growing coalition of nearly 40 local, state, and national organizations including: Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, American Sustainable Business Network, Beyond Plastics, Break Free From Plastics, Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, CASE Citizens Alliance for a Sustainable Englewood, Center for Environmental Health, Center for Public Environmental Oversight, Cherokee Concerned Citizens, Clean+Healthy, Clean Air Council, Clean Beauty for Black Girls, Clean Cape Fear, Clean Water Action, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Earthjustice, Ecology Center, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Working Group, Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, Green Science Policy Institute, League of Conservation Voters, Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water, Moms Clean Air Force, Move Past Plastic (MPPP), Newburgh Clean Water Project, NRDC, Oregon Environmental Council, PFOAProjectNY, Puget Soundkeeper, Safer States, Save Our Water S.O.H2O, Toxic-Free Future, Vermont Conservation Voters, Vermont Natural Resources Council, Waterspirit, and Zero Waste Ithaca.