Proposed changes to the nation’s premier chemical safety law are necessary for American competitiveness, Senate Republicans said in a hearing on Wednesday, as Democrats warned the changes will harm public health.
A new report has identified over 100 food chemicals that companies have declared are safe for consumption without notifying the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), leveraging what critics say is a legal loophole that prevents federal regulators from making sure food ingredients are safe.
Scientists and health advocates say proposed changes to a key US chemicals safety law would upend protections for children and other vulnerable populations suffering from toxic exposures, while industry leaders argue the changes would help them get new chemicals to market without sacrificing safety.
Senate Republicans released a draft discussion bill on Thursday aimed at loosening the nation’s premier chemical safety law with the goal of reducing chemical review delays.
Children’s health researchers gathered at a legislative briefing in Washington, DC this week to share recent science on how phthalates, organophosphate pesticides, food additives and other chemicals harm kids’ brains.
A top US regulatory official on Monday championed controversial chemical review reforms that critics say will support industry interests while weakening protections against toxic chemicals for the public.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) repealed Biden-era regulations that forced power plants to cut harmful pollutants including brain-damaging mercury and particulate matter, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin announced on Friday.
In a widely expected move, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday reapproved the pesticide dicamba, an herbicide used on genetically modified crops including corn, cotton and soybeans that is prone to far-reaching drift and linked to crop damages.
The fires that ravaged Los Angeles County last January destroyed or partially burned more than 18,000 homes and other structures and blanketed a like number in toxic smoke and soot. A year later, recovery is lagging: Fewer than a dozen destroyed homes have been rebuilt, and less than 1,000 rebuilds are on track for this year.
In a move that reflects mounting US opposition to a class of harmful insecticides linked to environmental and human health risks, Colorado lawmakers last week introduced a bill to curb the use of neonicotinoids.