NRDC Drops TSCA Suit But Vows 'Heightened Vigilance' On New Chemicals

摘要

Environmentalists have dropped their suit over EPA's draft framework for reviewing new chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) after a top official said it has not been implemented as planned, but the groups are still pledging "heightened vigilance" of administration and industry efforts to scale back oversight of the substances. In an Aug. 29 blog, attorneys with Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Safer Chemicals Healthy Families (SCHF) warn that they plan to closely scrutinize a process EPA appears to have adopted to replace the draft framework. "The persistence of the chemical industry and the Trump administration in trying to dismantle the new protections under TSCA requires heightened vigilance," they write. "We're now withdrawing our case because, despite the statements of agency officials last December, EPA has not in fact gone ahead with the Framework and seems unlikely to do so," they write. "As a result, the [new chemicals] program has dodged a bullet that would have had destructive consequences for public health." '"While EPA's announced decision to back off of the Framework is good news, it does not ensure that EPA is following the law's requirements, or that the public is being protected from the introduction of new chemicals of concern into the marketplace."