One of EPA’s core responsibilities under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is to protect public health by evaluating chemicals and limiting the risky ones. EPA recently released step one in this process-- its first chemical evaluation since TSCA was reformed in 2016, on the chemical Pigment Violet 29.  Unfortunately, our analysis found alarmingly poor … Continue reading EPA assessment should be called Pigment “Violate” the science

1,4-dioxane is a cancer-causing chemical contaminating drinking water in Michigan, a situation local officials are calling “a slow-motion environmental disaster,” and significant problem with the water supply. Yet, despite such clear and acknowledged dangers, EPA will ignore 1,4-dioxane in people’s drinking water entirely in its health risk evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). … Continue reading EPA ignoring major risks in chemical assessments

There are almost 40,000 chemicals in commerce, and EPA needs to take action to limit those that are dangerous. That’s why the reformed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) directs EPA to select (through a prioritization process as shown below) 20 “high-priority,” potentially risky chemicals by the end of next year for assessment. To make informed … Continue reading EPA’s unwritten policy on chemical data: don’t ask, don’t tell

When Congress reformed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in 2016, it gave EPA a critical job: to protect the public’s health from the ‘worst of the worst’ hazardous chemicals – those that build up in our bodies and persist in the environment, known as persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals (PBTs). EPA’s recent assessment of … Continue reading ‘Worst of worst’ chemicals here to stay – EPA, we need action