What a new head of EPA’s TSCA office will face and need to do

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

News reports today indicate that the President is nominating Alexandra Dapolito Dunn for Assistant Administrator of EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, which implements the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

Here is our first take on what she will be facing and need to do, if confirmed:

The major reforms Congress made to TSCA in 2016 passed with strong bipartisan support because they struck a careful balance among competing interests.  Since that time, however, every aspect of the law’s implementation by the Trump Administration has gone badly off the rails, skewed heavily in the chemical industry’s favor at the expense of the public’s health.

In EDF’s view, any credible nominee for the OCSPP Assistant Administrator needs to understand and acknowledge this stark imbalance and take steps to address it.  The AA should be able and willing to facilitate a fundamental shift in TSCA implementation back to a course that comports with the law, reflects strong science, and is protective of public and worker health, including that of vulnerable subpopulations.

If she is confirmed, Ms. Dunn will have her work cut out for her, given the forces arrayed within and outside the agency that have led to the current imbalance.  That is a challenge that will need to be faced head-on.