Strengthening the Regulation of Harmful Chemicals: Federal Legislative Briefing on Toxic Chemical Regulation

WE ACT is co-hosting Strengthening the Regulation of Harmful Chemicals, a federal legislative briefing, with Earthjustice and the University of California, San Francisco’s (UCSF) Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment to urge the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to update its risk evaluation methods to better protect people from harmful chemicals. The briefing is at 1:00 PM on Wednesday, March 29 at the Capitol Building Visitor Center SVC-203. It is open to the public and you can register to attend here, but it is in-person only and seats are limited, so act now!

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was updated by Congress in 2016 to strengthen the EPA’s ability to regulate harmful chemicals. However, the EPA has been slow to implement the law, leaving our communities exposed to harmful chemicals. This is a critical environmental justice issue as low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately exposed to many of these harmful chemicals. In fact, Peggy Shepard was among the authors of a recently published paper on this. We are urging the agency to update its methods for evaluating chemicals and the risks they pose, and we are also calling for increased funding to enable it to achieve this.

Speakers will include:

Eve Gartner, JD, managing attorney, Toxic Exposure and Health Program, Earthjustice

Micaela E. Martinez, Ph.D., director of environmental health, WE ACT for Environmental Justice;

Tracey J. Woodruff, PhD, MPH, former EPA senior scientist, professor and director UCSF Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment;

Wendy Heiger-Bernays, PhD, toxicologist and clinical professor, Boston University School of Public Health;

Celinda Lake, president, Lake Research Partners, will discuss the findings of a recent national public opinion survey that found an overwhelming majority of Americans (92 percent) support chemical regulation and agree they want products to be proven safe before companies are allowed to put them on the market.