EDF Health

EPA’s TCE Ban: A Vital Step for Public Health

Right-to-Know sign for trichloroethylene, or TCE. Lists the health hazards of TCE.

What Happened?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently taken a significant step in safeguarding public health by proposing new regulations under our nation’s primary chemicals law, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that would protect people from exposure to trichloroethylene (TCE), a highly toxic chemical that causes serious health risks. The proposed rule would ban the production, import, processing, and distribution in commerce for all uses of TCE.

Yet, despite the known dangers of TCE and the undeniable scientific evidence supporting the need for this action, the chemical industry is trying to undermine this critical regulation by incorrectly claiming the proposed rule is “inconsistent with the science.”

Why It Matters

TCE causes so many different harms at such low levels that, when finalized, this action will bring widespread benefits to countless individuals.

TCE can cause multiple types of cancer – kidney cancer, liver cancer, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancers. In addition, exposure to TCE can cause kidney, liver, and neurological damage, harm the immune system and reproduction, and result in heart defects in developing fetuses.

What is particularly concerning is that some of the harm TCE causes—such as to the immune system and fetal heart development—occurs at extremely low levels that often go unnoticed.

People can be exposed in many ways: from chemical plants producing and releasing TCE into the environment; facilities using it for degreasing parts; and the intrusion of TCE into people’s homes, schools, and workplaces from industrial contamination of soil and groundwater.

“The only inconsistency with the science lies in the chemical industry’s misleading claims.”—Maria Doa, PhD, EDF Senior Director for Chemicals Policy

Our Take

We applaud EPA for taking this long-overdue action.

The extensively peer reviewed science clearly demonstrates the high toxicity of TCE and that exposure to even small amounts of TCE can harm a person in multiple ways. The only inconsistency with the science lies in the chemical industry’s misleading claims.

Once again, the chemical industry is resorting to the same tired playbook—attempting to downplay the dangers of TCE—all in the interest of protecting their profits. There is no valid justification to continue subjecting people to the perils posed by this pernicious chemical.

It is imperative that EPA expeditiously finalize its ban of TCE.

Go Deeper

Read our previous blogs on TCE.

Download a PDF of this blog post.

Posted in Adverse health effects, Chemical exposure, Chemical regulation, Developmental toxicity, Health hazards, Industry influence, Neurotoxicity, Public health, Reproductive toxicity, Rules/Regulations, TSCA / Tagged , , | Authors: / 1 Response

EPA’s New Chemical Regulations: Backtracking on PBTs

NOTE: This is the fifth in a series about EPA’s regulation of new chemicals. See:

What Happened?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed new regulations for its safety reviews of new chemicals under our nation’s primary chemicals law, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). One of the proposed provisions would govern which persistent, bioaccumulative,1 toxic chemicals (PBTs) should undergo a full safety review.

Why It Matters

This proposed approach would exclude certain PBTs from a full new chemical safety review. This is a concerning step backward in addressing the risks from these chemicals.

PBT chemicals do not break down readily from natural processes and raise special concern because of their ability to build up in both the environment and in people and other organisms. Even small releases of these long-lived and bioaccumulative toxic chemicals can pose long-term risks to human health and the environment. Notable PBTs—such as DDT, which affects reproduction, and methyl mercury, which is a powerful neurotoxin—impacted whole ecosystems across the United States, including the Great Lakes.

View of Lake Michigan

View of Lake Michigan Photo credit: Maria Doa

Read More »

Posted in Adverse health effects, Chemical exposure, Chemical regulation, Health hazards, Health policy, Neurotoxicity, PBTs, Regulation, Risk assessment, Rules/Regulations, TSCA / Tagged , , , , , | Authors: / Comments are closed

Industry is Scapegoating EPA for New Chemical Review Delays

What’s Happening?

The chemical industry has an extensive—and ongoing—history of complaining about how long it takes EPA to do new chemical safety reviews.

The irony is that industry is the very player causing the delays in EPA’s review process. Clear data indicate that chemical manufacturers are primarily responsible for the length of EPA’s reviews and the backlog of cases.

Illustration of a goat looking anxious as 6 fingers point at it from outside the frame

Why It Matters

One of EPA’s vital roles is to assess the safety of new chemicals before they enter the market.

Industry’s outcry about a backlog serves as a smokescreen to pressure EPA into swiftly approving new chemicals even when they may not be safe. This would put us all at risk, particularly those who are more susceptible or maybe more highly exposed, such as children, pregnant people, and people who live and work in fenceline communities.

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Posted in Chemical regulation, Industry influence / Tagged , , , , | Authors: / Comments are closed

Now’s the Time—How EPA Can Use TSCA to Turn Off the PFAS Tap

Faucet with the word PFAS flowing out of it

In the face of mounting evidence about the dangers posed by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), one thing is clear: EPA needs to take urgent action to turn off the tap of these “forever chemicals” that have long-term consequences for our health and the environment.

As we discussed in a previous blog, it is imperative that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) use the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to regulate PFAS chemicals comprehensively—both those newly entering the market and those that have been in circulation for decades.

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Posted in Chemical exposure, Chemical regulation, Cumulative impact, Cumulative risk assessment, Drinking water, Emerging science, Health policy, PFAS, Public health, Regulation, Risk assessment, Risk evaluation, TSCA, TSCA reform, Vulnerable populations, Worker safety / Tagged , , | Authors: / Read 2 Responses

EPA’s Approach to 1,4-Dioxane Falls Short of Protecting Fenceline Communities

Clear water pouring from a pitcher into a glass.What’s New?

Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) embarked on a critical Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) supplemental risk evaluation of 1,4-dioxane [PDF, 8.7MB]– a highly carcinogenic chemical that contaminates drinking water supplies across the country and is present in products, such as cleaning supplies and personal care products.

This draft supplemental risk evaluation represents a significant step forward because it addresses many of the omissions from the original 1,4-dioxane risk evaluation. Unfortunately, as we noted in our comments to EPA, a closer examination reveals several shortcomings in how EPA addresses risks to fenceline communities—people living, playing, and working near industrial facilities that release toxic chemicals into the air and water. Read More »

Posted in Chemical exposure, Chemical regulation, Cumulative impact, Cumulative risk assessment, TSCA / Tagged , , | Authors: , / Read 1 Response

Fatally Flawed: EDF & partners call on EPA to revoke approval for new chemicals with shocking health risks

 

 

A sepia-toned image showing a factory with dark smoke billowing out of multiple smokestacks.

What Happened?

EDF and other environmental groups recently asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw the approval it issued for a group of new chemicals. This approval, also known as a consent order, allows Chevron to create fuels at its refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi, by using oils produced through a process of superheating plastic waste to break it down (a process known as pyrolysis). The consent order also allows for the use of these fuels derived from waste plastic at more than 100 locations. ProPublica published an article on the issue on August 4, 2023.

Why It Matters

EPA is required by law to provide protections against unreasonable risks posed by new chemicals. But in the consent order EPA approved the production and use of these new chemicals despite significant health risks. One of the chemicals posed a 1 in 4 risk of developing cancer for people exposed to it. Another chemical carried risks of a 7 in 100 cancer risk from eating fish contaminated by it and a greater than 1.3 in 1 cancer risk from inhaling it.

When asked about the shockingly high cancer risks it estimated, EPA claimed its cancer risk assumptions were overly conservative but failed to provide any information about what it believes are the actual risks and pointed to undefined controls under other laws as controlling the risks.

Until now, the acceptable risk standard for cancer in the general population has been 1 in 1,000,000. The risk levels EPA identified are up to 1,000,000 times greater than that. Read More »

Posted in Adverse health effects, Chemical exposure, Chemical regulation, Frontline communities, Health hazards, Health policy, Industry influence, Risk assessment, Risk evaluation, TSCA, Vulnerable populations / Tagged , , , , | Authors: / Comments are closed