At the end of this summer, the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) announced they had finally eliminated a backlog of more than 600 new chemicals is was reviewing under their new chemical safety program. It seems they moved fast due to “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.” 1 So, safety first, obviously.
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However, environmental groups have accused the Trump administration of simply bowing to their master, the chemical industry:
“Richard Denison, a lead senior scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), said the move puts the industry’s demands for ready market access above public health protection.
Denison said the EPA sidestepped the Frank Lautenberg Act, a critical environmental law signed by President Obama in 2016 that overhauled the “badly broken” Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976.
The Lautenberg Act resulted in a temporary backlog of hundreds of new chemical notices. But in recent months, EPA 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,” Denison said.”2
For their part, the EPA is thrilled with all their progress.
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Bottom line, you’ll still want to check other sources to see if a chemical is really safe and whenever possible, just stay away from chemicals. We still cannot trust the EPA to work on our behalf or that of the environment.
