Dow Chemical Co. Archives

November 8, 2023

PFAS industry spent over $110 million on recent lobbying, report finds

By Shannon Kelleher

Chemical industry advocates have spent more than $110 million in recent years on lobbying efforts that included opposing laws designed to reduce the use of, and exposure to, a group of toxic chemicals known as PFAS, according to a new study.

Lobbying expenditures from 2019 to 2022 undermined toxic chemicals legislation that would impact industries that make and use per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), according to Food & Water Watch, which published the report on Tuesday. During that period, only four of more than 130 bills introduced by Congress to help clean up PFAS became law.

“There’s a whole disproportionate amount of money being spent by the opposing side to try to avoid any kind of meaningful action,” said Amanda Starbuck, research director of Food & Water Watch. “If we want to stop the production and the contamination from PFAS, even before we get into the cleanup part of it, we really need some comprehensive legislation. I think this report shows what’s standing in the way.”

PFAS, also called “forever chemicals,” do not break down naturally and are found in about 83% of US waterways, according to a 2022 analysis. About 97% of Americans have PFAS in their blood, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Exposure to the chemicals has been linked to numerous health problems, including thyroid, kidney, and testicular cancer, as well as ulcerative colitis, high cholesterol, and hypertension during pregnancy. Last March, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced proposed drinking water standards for six PFAS chemicals.

The companies 3M, DuPont, and others agreed to settlements over the summer that will provide communities with billions of dollars to test for PFAS and remove them from drinking water.

To investigate how much money is potentially being used to fight PFAS legislation, researchers dug into a database of lobbying disclosure forms made available by the US House of Representatives. The team focused on six top PFAS manufacturers, the companies 3M, Archroma, Chemours, Daikin, Honeywell, and Solvay, as well as Dow and DuPont, which historically made or used PFAS, and the American Chemistry Council (ACC).

The PFAS companies paid 28 lobbyists to fight a 2019 bill that would have designated two major types of PFAS as hazardous substances under the Superfund program, the report found. The PFAS Action Act passed the House but was killed by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, where a majority of current committee members accepted campaign contributions from PFAS manufacturers or the ACC, the report found. The committee’s Democratic majority received about $70,000 from top chemical companies from 2019 to 2022, while the Republican minority received nearly $400,000, according to the report.

June 7, 2023

Advocacy groups sue EPA after agency re-approved two highly toxic weed killers

By Shannon Kelleher

Environmental and workers’ rights groups this week filed a lawsuit alleging a federal agency failed to properly consider risks to public health and the environment when it re-approved two highly toxic herbicides.

Enlist One and Enlist Duo, which are sprayed on crops across the US, contain chemicals that jeopardize the health of rural communities and farmworkers and threaten hundreds of endangered species, native plants, and local waterways, the groups warn. They also say the products can increase damage to nearby crops and exacerbate the problem of herbicide-resistant weeds. In January 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) re-approved the weed killers’ product registrations for seven more years.

“Farmworkers and rural communities are experiencing significant health effects from Enlist herbicides,” said Mily Trevino-Sauceda, Executive Director of Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, which advocates for farmworkers’ rights, in a press release. “EPA’s registration decision shows an utter disregard for public health.”

In their complaint, the Center for Food Safety, Pesticide Action Network North America, and Alianza Nacional de Campesinas allege that the agency violated both the the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) when it re-approved the herbicides, understating the chemicals’ dangers and neglecting to consult the US Fish and Wildlife Service before moving forward.

“We’re asking the court to order EPA to properly consider the risks before approving these two harmful herbicides and to consult with the expert wildlife agencies,” said Kristina Sinclair, an attorney with the Center for Food Safety.