Monthly Archives: August 2017

New Pew/RWJF report rigorously evaluates options and recommends 10 policies

By Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals Initiative / Published: August 30, 2017

Tom Neltner, J.D., Chemicals Policy Director

For the past 2 years, the issue of lead – in paint, water, dust, soil, food, toys, and kids’ blood – has been extensively covered in the news. The crises in Flint and East Chicago have laid bare the vulnerability of communities across the U.S. The evidence is now clear that there is no safe level of lead in children’s blood. What used to be tolerable is no longer acceptable. Evidence from studies of children show clearly that levels of lead in blood affect brain development at levels below those once considered acceptable and should not be tolerated. We must be vigilant to prevent young children’s exposure to lead.

We have already made substantial progress as a nation. From 1999 to 2014, mean blood lead levels in young children dropped 56% and the levels over 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood dropped 86%. This change was due to smart policies, effective regulations, funding, and vigilance from federal, state and local agencies as well as private and non-profit organizations. Despite this headway, lead exposure continues to be a significant problem, preventing our communities from thriving and holding back the future generations from achieving their full potential.

Last year, several organizations developed comprehensive plans1 to eliminate lead exposure. Each added value to the discussion. Today, a new report from the Health Impact Project, a collaboration of The Pew Charitable Trusts and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), provides a rigorous analysis of the costs of lead and the impact of various policy solutions to help protect children from the harms of lead exposure. My colleague, Ananya Roy, and I served as advisors on the project.

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Podcast: You Make Me Sick! Black lung disease

By Ryan O'Connell / Published: August 29, 2017

Black lung disease has burdened coal miners and mining communities for generations. By the late 1960s, improvements in medicine, mining conditions, and federal regulation had led to greater coal worker protection and a subsequent decline in cases of black lung disease. However, in the last two decades, doctors have noticed an alarming trend: black lung disease is on the rise, especially among young miners.

In this episode of our podcast, we spoke with Dr. Edward Petsonk, a pulmonologist and professor at West Virginia University, about his 20 years of research on black lung disease. He unraveled how the disease develops and explained how changes in mining practices may be responsible for its uptick in recent years. Dr. Petsonk also shared the effects that this illness has on miners, their families, and mining communities across the country.

Want more? Subscribe to us on iTunes or Google Play, or check out Podbean to listen via desktop!

Posted in Health policy, Health science, Worker safety / Tagged | Comments are closed

Protecting the most vulnerable: Lead in drinking water testing requirements for child care facilities

By Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals Initiative / Published: August 17, 2017

Lindsay McCormick, Project Manager and Tom Neltner, J.D., Chemicals Policy Director

[Updated April 2018 and June 2018] .  See here for the most up-to-date information on state testing requirements.

Children under the age of 6 are most vulnerable to the detrimental impacts of lead exposure. Even at low levels, lead exposure can harm the brain development of young children – resulting in learning and behavioral problems for the rest of their lives.

The recent national attention on lead in drinking water and reports of high levels in certain schools has spurred action to address the problem in schools. As a result of state-level requirements and voluntary state programs, many schools across the country are testing their drinking water for lead and taking actions to fix problems.

In contrast, child care (also called day care or early childhood education) has gone relatively unnoticed – even though such facilities serve children at their most vulnerable ages.

However, several states and cities have or are developing proactive programs requiring testing for lead in child care facilities’ drinking water and mandating action when high levels are found. Seven states – Connecticut, Illinois, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington – and one city – New York City– require licensed child care facilities to test their drinking water for lead [1].

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Toxicologists endorsing Dourson’s nomination are birds of a feather

By Richard Denison / Published: August 11, 2017

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist.

[My colleagues Dr. Jennifer McPartland, Lindsay McCormick, Ryan O’Connell, and Dr. Maricel Maffini assisted in the research described in this post.]

[Use this link to see all of our posts on Dourson.]

When the Trump Administration announced its intention to nominate Michael Dourson to head the office at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) charged with implementing the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA issued a news release titled “Widespread Praise for Dr. Michael Dourson.”  The release cited four toxicologists:  Samuel M. Cohen, Jay I. Goodman, Gio Batta Gori and Kendall B. Wallace.

Far from representing a “widespread” set of endorsers, it turns out these four and Dourson constitute an exceedingly close-knit group.   Read More »

Posted in Health policy, Health science, Industry influence, TSCA reform / Tagged | Read 2 Responses

Dourson’s go-to journal for publishing his industry-funded papers is, well, also industry-funded

By Richard Denison / Published: August 9, 2017

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist.

[My colleague Ryan O’Connell assisted in the research described in this post.]

[Use this link to see all of our posts on Dourson.]

In a recent post I noted our initial findings from a review of published papers of Michael Dourson, the Trump Administration’s nominee to head the office at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) charged with implementing the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  That review has shown that Dourson has been paid by dozens of companies and trade associations for work on dozens of their chemicals – including many of the same chemicals he will be charged with reviewing and regulating should he be confirmed.

Our review is uncovering additional curious features of Dourson’s published papers.  Read More »

Posted in Health policy, Health science, Industry influence, TSCA reform / Tagged | Comments are closed

EPA’s announced changes to new chemicals review process put industry demands for ready market access above public health protection

By Richard Denison / Published: August 7, 2017

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist.

Last year’s Lautenberg Act, which overhauled the badly broken Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), made fundamental changes intended to improve EPA’s review of new chemicals prior to their commercialization, by requiring more scrutiny of those chemicals to better ensure they are safe.  Until recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was on track in implementing the new requirements in a health-protective manner.  With the addition of more staff, EPA was also steadily reducing the temporary backlog in new chemical reviews that had developed – a result of the fact that the law’s new requirements took effect immediately upon passage.

In recent months, however, agency staff have faced relentless pressure from the chemical industry – and internally from new industry-friendly senior management – not only to speed up reviews, but to return the program to its pre-Lautenberg practices.  There were growing signs that EPA was considering changes that would circumvent the law’s requirements in the name of increasing program “throughput.”   The agency’s press release today makes clear that this is now happening.   Read More »

Posted in Health policy, Industry influence, TSCA reform / Tagged | Comments are closed