Scientists launch new tool to prioritize people’s health in government decision-making

February 27, 2025February 27, 2025 ~ PRHE

As rising chronic disease trends are driven, in part, by exposures to harmful chemicals, pollutants, and plastics, a team of more than 30 environmental health experts led by scientists at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) developed the first decision-making framework for environmental health that prioritizes prevention rather than continuing to allow environmental harms that … Continue reading Scientists launch new tool to prioritize people’s health in government decision-making

Microplastics may be leading to lung and colon cancers

December 18, 2024December 14, 2025 ~ PRHE ~ 2 Comments

A review of 3,000 studies also suggests these minute plastic air particles may be causing male and female infertility. Tires and degrading garbage shed tiny pieces of plastic into the air, creating a form of air pollution that UC San Francisco researchers suspect may be causing respiratory and other illnesses. A review of some 3,000 … Continue reading Microplastics may be leading to lung and colon cancers

How do chemical exposures impact COVID?

September 8, 2022September 8, 2022 ~ PRHE

The emergence of COVID-19 marked a dramatic shift in our lives: quarantine, remote work, and coping with the extraordinary loss of life on a global scale. As environmental health experts, we were also concerned about how increased exposure to cleaning chemicals – and chemicals generally – might impact COVID outcomes. We knew this virus – … Continue reading How do chemical exposures impact COVID?

EPA must improve its TSCA systematic review method, scientific review says again

July 28, 2022July 28, 2022 ~ PRHE

Six years have passed since Congress updated the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), yet EPA still does not have an appropriate method for conducting systematic reviews of chemical risks - the method by which EPA evaluates potential health harms - which is critical to protecting the public’s health. This is the clear conclusion taken from … Continue reading EPA must improve its TSCA systematic review method, scientific review says again

Where did all the evidence go?

April 13, 2022April 18, 2022 ~ Nick Chartres

One of the key issues that the scientific community, EPA’s own Scientific Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC), and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) had with EPA’s original systematic review method (TSCA Method) to evaluate chemical risks under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), was how EPA evaluated the quality of the … Continue reading Where did all the evidence go?

EPA needs to fix its rules for identifying health effects under TSCA

April 8, 2022April 28, 2022 ~ PRHE

When reviewing long, technical EPA science documents it helps to have an idea of what to look for. If you begin on page 1 and read everything in order, you may never get to some of the most critical content. The buried details can ultimately determine whether EPA’s actions will protect people’s health or leave … Continue reading EPA needs to fix its rules for identifying health effects under TSCA

“I swear I’ve changed” – US EPA

March 31, 2022April 11, 2022 ~ PRHE

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to use methods “consistent with the best available science" to evaluate scientific evidence on chemical health risks. These methods are critical because they shape EPA’s decision-making on chemicals evaluated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which has profound implications for public health. In 2018, EPA released its … Continue reading “I swear I’ve changed” – US EPA

EPA uses systematic reviews to guide new PFAS drinking water standards

February 3, 2022March 10, 2023 ~ PRHE

They may be called forever chemicals because they can stay in your body for years, but we don’t have forever to enact health protective decisions on PFAS (per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances). This is especially true given the large body of scientific evidence on prenatal exposures to PFAS and effects on fetal growth that the … Continue reading EPA uses systematic reviews to guide new PFAS drinking water standards

National Academies of Sciences: EPA should follow IRIS lead

December 8, 2021December 8, 2021 ~ Nick Chartres ~ 1 Comment

Last week, the National Academies of Sciences (NAS) said EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Assessments "can serve as a model for other EPA programs that are implementing systematic review methods.” We commend the IRIS program and urge EPA to use the IRIS method across every office that conducts chemical evaluations so that we can … Continue reading National Academies of Sciences: EPA should follow IRIS lead

Holding EPA accountable for its scientific methods

November 12, 2021 ~ PRHE ~ 1 Comment

House Committee on Science, Space & Technology Chair Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson sent a letter to EPA chief Michael Regan asking the Agency when it will update its systematic review methodology – the method used to evaluate chemicals risks - under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). PRHE has been working to ensure EPA uses validated systematic review … Continue reading Holding EPA accountable for its scientific methods