EDF Health

EPA’s new chemical regulations: Backtracking on PBTs

By Maria Doa, PhD, Senior Director, Chemicals Policy / Published: November 15, 2023

NOTE: This is the fifth in a series about EPA’s regulation of new chemicals. See below under Go Deeper for links to the other blogs in the series.

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 »

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

EPA’s new chemical regulations: Industry bias must be fixed

By EDF Blogs / Published: November 9, 2023

By Maria Doa, PhD, Senior Director, Chemicals Policy, and Colin Parts, Legal Fellow

NOTE: This is the fourth in a series about EPA’s regulation of new chemicals. See below under Go Deeper for links to the other blogs in the series.

A robotic-looking hand pushes down on the right side of a balance scale to unfairly influence the measurement.

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 these proposed provisions would govern how EPA can change the restricted approvals it issues for new chemicals that may pose unreasonable risks. EPA’s proposed approach would limit the type of stakeholders involved and the potential for stronger chemical regulations.

Read More »

Also posted in Conflict of interest, Industry influence, Rules/Regulations, TSCA / Tagged , , , , | Authors: / Comments are closed

New Chemicals Rule: EPA must require more info from industry

By EDF Blogs / Published: November 3, 2023

By Maria J. Doa, PhD, Senior Director, Chemicals Policy, and Greg Schweer, Consultant

NOTE: This is the third in a series about EPA’s regulation of new chemicals. See below under Go Deeper for links to other blogs in the series.

Chemical worker in hazmat suit and full-face respirator making new chemicals for industry.

What Happened?

EPA recently proposed regulations to govern how it reviews companies’ pre-manufacture notifications for new chemicals before those chemicals can go on the market.

Why It Matters

Industry often waits until late in the review process to submit information—which means that EPA may spend a significant amount of time and effort to revise its risk assessments to incorporate the new information.

EPA has a major opportunity to improve the New Chemicals Program as it crafts these revised regulations. Requiring industry to provide additional “known or reasonably ascertainable information” as required by the law is an important component of this rule. This should reduce the amount of assessment “rework” the agency currently conducts.

Read More »

Also posted in Industry influence, Risk assessment / Tagged , , , | Authors: / Comments are closed

Industry is scapegoating EPA for new chemical review delays

By Maria Doa, PhD, Senior Director, Chemicals Policy / Published: October 17, 2023

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.

Read More »

Also posted in Industry influence / Tagged , , , , | Authors: / Comments are closed

EPA: Now’s your chance to get foxes out of the henhouse

By Samantha Liskow / Published: October 10, 2023

Rooster facing fox on a black background

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

What Happened?

EPA recently proposed new regulations for its safety reviews of new chemicals under our nation’s main chemicals law, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). With this action, the agency has a big chance to solve major problems that have undermined scientific integrity, transparency, and public confidence in EPA’s ability to ensure the safety of new chemicals. Unfortunately, the proposed regulation that EPA put out for comment this year falls far short of this goal.

EDF has joined with other organizations, including AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Resources Defense Council, in a letter urging EPA to make fundamental changes (PDF, 178KB) to these proposed regulations. One of the most important is this: the agency should end its longstanding practice of sharing about the risks of new chemicals with only the companies that make them—and allowing those companies to dispute the results.

Read More »

Also posted in Industry influence, TSCA / Tagged , , , , , | Authors: / Read 1 Response

Time for a new age for new chemicals

By EDF Blogs / Published: September 20, 2023

By Maria Doa, PhD, Senior Director, Chemicals Policy, Samantha Liskow, Senior Counsel, and Colin Parts, Legal Fellow

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

What Happened?

EPA recently proposed regulations to govern how it reviews companies’ pre-manufacture notifications for new chemicals before those chemicals can go on the market.

Why It Matters

Unfortunately, as we noted in our comments to EPA [PDF, 721KB], the proposal falls significantly short of implementing the fundamental changes needed to ensure the safety of any new chemicals allowed onto the market.

Read More »

Also posted in Industry influence, TSCA / Tagged , , , | Authors: / Comments are closed