Category: TSCA

Wolf in sheep’s clothing, part 2: How EPA’s TSCA systematic review method is threatening public health

~ Nick Chartres

UPDATE: EPA is considering dropping TSCA systematic review’s study scoring system, according to Inside EPA. Deputy Director of the Risk Assessment Division within EPA’s toxics office, Stan Barone, criticized the numeric scoring system during an August 24 meeting of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) committee that is peer reviewing EPA’s systematic … Continue reading Wolf in sheep’s clothing, part 2: How EPA’s TSCA systematic review method is threatening public health

TSCA is 4

~ PRHE

Congress amended the law that is supposed to protect people from dangerous chemicals. EPA’s current leadership is exploiting the law’s loopholes and making a mockery of it. Four years ago, Congress passed and President Obama signed legislation to amend the nation's Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that regulates chemicals in commerce, changes that were 40 … Continue reading TSCA is 4

Wolf in sheep’s clothing, part 1: EPA’s TSCA systematic review method

~ Nick Chartres

How do you know whether you can trust a conclusion reached in a scientific review assessing the harms of an environmental exposure? In part one of this two-part series, we will explain how scientists evaluate an entire body of evidence to answer a specific research question using systematic review methods and look at why this … Continue reading Wolf in sheep’s clothing, part 1: EPA’s TSCA systematic review method

Vulnerable populations bear the burden of EPA’s inadequate policy on industrial chemicals

~ Patricia Koman, MPP, PhD

In 2016 with bipartisan support, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act became law, updating the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Before the update, TSCA was widely seen as ineffective at protecting public health, especially for susceptible groups like pregnant women, infants, children, the elderly, and workers. Under the new Lautenberg … Continue reading Vulnerable populations bear the burden of EPA’s inadequate policy on industrial chemicals

The deadly omission in EPA’s Methylene Chloride rule

~ Swati Rayasam

In October 2017, Drew Wynne, 31, succumbed to methylene chloride fumes while removing paint from the floors of his coffee company. This was almost a year after EPA proposed but refused to finalize a rule to ban methylene chloride paint strippers (“2017 rule”) which could have prevented his death. When EPA finalized their rule in … Continue reading The deadly omission in EPA’s Methylene Chloride rule

House investigates EPA’s failures on workers and toxic chemicals

~ Veena Singla

The House Energy & Commerce sub-committee on Environment and Climate Change is holding a hearing on “Mismanaging Chemical Risks: EPA’s Failure to Protect Workers.” Dr. Tracey Woodruff, Professor and Director at the University of California, San Francisco Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, gave this statement: "The science is clear: workers face disproportionately high … Continue reading House investigates EPA’s failures on workers and toxic chemicals

EPA assessment should be called Pigment “Violate” the science

~ Veena Singla ~ 1 Comment

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

EPA ignoring major risks in chemical assessments

~ Veena Singla ~ 1 Comment

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