Plunge in New Chemical Requests Hurts Innovation, Lawyers Say

摘要

The EPA’s slow, unpredictable decisions on whether manufacturers can make new chemicals is threatening U.S. innovation, industry attorneys say, while environmentalists argue thatcloser agency reviews are long overdue.Companies invent new chemicals-ones that have never been made in or imported into the U.S.-to solve problems, said Jamie Conrad, whose firm, Conrad Law and Policy Counsel,advises chemical trade associations and companies. New chemicals can help new technologies work, enhance equipment performance, and benefit people and the environment by beingsafer or manufactured in ways that use less energy, water, or hazardous materials, he said.