WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall responded to news that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed its review of 600 new chemicals that had been waiting on approval to go to market. Udall last year led the effort to pass the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, the first major reform of the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act. The reform mandates that the EPA evaluate the safety of all new chemicals before they go to market and ensure that their use is safe for pregnant women, infants, the elderly and workers.
Udall issued the following statement, warning the EPA that prioritizing speed of approval over safety is a violation of Congress' intent for the reform law:
“The EPA must not be a rubber stamp for the chemical industry. One of the reasons Congress, stakeholders and industry worked together and successfully reformed TSCA was that the public had lost all confidence in the law. States had begun regulating on their own, creating a confusing patchwork of laws across the country. Similarly, one of the biggest challenges for the EPA in implementing the Lautenberg Act is to maintain public confidence that the agency and industry are committed to carrying out the intent of the new law, which is first and foremost to protect public health and safety.
"Unfortunately, Administrator Pruitt and the Trump EPA already are making decisions that will undermine the integrity of the new law. I’m extremely concerned that the EPA is prioritizing speed of approval over public safety — the opposite of what Congress intended. I will be examining this development in the new chemicals program and will take any steps necessary to prevent it from being weakened. Neglecting public health in an effort to rush chemicals to market will not only put Americans at risk — particularly pregnant women, infants, seniors and workers — but it also will undermine a key benefit to industry: the public faith that products and their ingredients have been rigorously reviewed to be safe.”
