FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Anne Hawke, ahawke@nrdc.org, (646) 823-4518
NRDC, Partners Sue Trump Administration Over Flawed Toxic Chemical Regulations
WASHINGTON (August 14, 2017) – The Natural Resources Defense Council, together with the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments and Cape Fear River Watch, have sued the Trump administration over its rules for regulating toxic chemicals in consumer products and in the workplace. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Richmond, challenges industry-friendly rules the EPA issued in July. Those rules address how the agency plans to prioritize chemicals and evaluate their health risks under the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
The following is a statement by Katie Huffling, Executive Director of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments:
“As nurses, we are outraged that the EPA would put the chemical industry’s narrow interests ahead of the health of all Americans. Our children deserve to be safe from toxic chemicals.”
The following is a statement by Kemp Burdette, Riverkeeper for Cape Fear River Watch:
“Toxic chemicals are not a hypothetical here. The drinking water for one in five North Carolinians comes from the Cape Fear River. Researchers recently found the river – and our drinking water – is filled with chemicals that can cause cancer. With stakes this high, it’s unconscionable that the Trump administration would put polluters over people by weakening the rules that protect us.”
The following is a statement by Daniel Rosenberg, Senior Attorney for the Health & Environment program at NRDC:
“Most people don’t realize how few protections this country has against toxic chemicals. These rules would make it harder to keep people safe. The EPA’s toxics office is now headed by a former top official for the chemical industry’s lobbying group. So it’s no surprise the agency is creating loopholes for chemical companies. We’re suing to hold the agency to its mission of protecting the public.”
For more information, see this blog by NRDC’s Daniel Rosenberg and Jennifer Sass.
