EDC Policy Updates

Three U.S. states have petitioned the EPA to regulate PFAS air emissions, urging the agency to designate certain chemicals as hazardous pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Tom Perkins reports for The Guardian.

U.S. lawmakers are seeking to revise the official definition of PFAS to exclude a profitable subclass of fluorinated gases widely used in industries and linked to environmental harm. Tom Perkins reports for The Guardian.

A recent court ruling has stripped Black communities in Louisiana of a key legal recourse to address racial disparities in pollution exposure, raising concerns about future environmental protections. Adam Mahoney reports for Capital B News.

A recent study in Nature estimates that the world generates 57 million tons of plastic pollution every year. In his commentary on the study, Matthew MacLeod examines how solutions must go beyond waste management in order to be effective. “Setting targets for limiting production and consumption of virgin plastic produced from fossil-fuel feedstock is the only rational strategy for tackling plastic pollution in the global environment.”

A new U.S. Food and Drug Administration food program, focused on chemical safety, could be an important step to ensure the food we feed our families is safe from harmful chemicals, health researchers said. For decades, the FDA has allowed thousands of artificial chemicals to be part of the American diet either as ingredients like emulsifiers, flavors and sweeteners added to food or chemicals that leach out from packaging and processing equipment like bisphenol-A (BPA), phthalates and PFAS. Many of these were authorized decades ago and their safety hasn’t been reviewed. Last month, we uncovered how approvals for recycling plastic food packaging rely on industry data and has tripled over the past five years, despite research finding recycled plastic can be more toxic than virgin plastic.

Key Biden administration regulations on worker protections, toxic chemicals and climate change remain unfinished, and their future will likely depend on the outcome of the 2024 election. Rachel Frazin reports for The Hill.

Many Americans using private wells are exposed to high levels of toxics like arsenic, which can cause cancer, without the government requiring testing or treatment. Silvia Foster-Frau reports for The Washington Post.

The European Parliament has backed new regulations to safeguard children from harmful chemicals in toys, focusing on banning endocrine disruptors and strengthening digital safety for connected toys. Marta Iraola Iribarren reports for Euronews.

A new commentary in Frontiers in Toxicology examines how current approaches to testing chemicals need to be updated to better protect human health, particularly in the US. “Better testing, and better use of testing data, can protect the public’s health.”

Massachusetts and Connecticut have become the first states to ban toxic PFAS chemicals from firefighter gear, aiming to protect firefighters from related health risks. Minnah Arshad reports for USA TODAY.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, alongside two other states, has petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to classify four PFAS chemicals as Hazardous Air Pollutants, seeking stricter regulation of these persistent environmental contaminants. Christine Zhu reports for NC Newsline.

UK activists and local councils are calling for a ban on pesticides in urban areas, inspired by Paris, which has been pesticide-free for seven years. Helena Horton reports for The Guardian.

U.S. lawmakers are urging stricter regulations on PFAS, chemicals used in EV batteries, amid concerns over widespread contamination. Jana Cholakovska reports for The Examination.

With final negotiations for a global plastics treaty approaching, the U.S. is urged to support concrete reductions in plastic production rather than focus solely on waste management and recycling. Tim Grabiel writes for Mongabay.

Massachusetts and Connecticut have become the first states to prohibit PFAS chemicals in firefighters’ protective gear, with the new laws requiring PFAS-free gear by 2027 and 2028. Tom Perkins reports for The Guardian.

A new commentary in Environmental Health Perspectives examines potential strategies for regulating toxic PFAS chemicals using lessons learned from dioxins, another class of hazardous chemicals that were successfully limited through regulation. “Because of their usefulness, their complex mechanisms that evade regulatory and toxicity screening strategies, and their extreme persistence in the environment, we argue that PFAS have the potential for a greater negative impact on environmental health.”

A federal judge in D.C. has ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to disclose more information about chemicals under review, siding with environmental groups who argued that the current lack of transparency compromises public safety. Zack Budryk reports for The Hill.

Bayer is quietly working to insert language into the upcoming Farm Bill that would block lawsuits against the company over claims that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, causes cancer. Dave Dickey writes for Investigate Midwest.

In a significant policy shift, the Biden administration announced it will now back plastic production limits in ongoing United Nations treaty negotiations, breaking from its previous focus on recycling efforts. Joseph Winters reports for Grist.

This week’s global treaty talks on plastic pollution in Bangkok have sparked outrage as environmentalists and affected communities are locked out of the negotiations, raising concerns about transparency and the future strength of the treaty. Jennifer McDermott reports for the Associated Press.