Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) released the following statement in response to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announcing its proposed rule for five Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic (PBT) chemicals - a class of toxic chemicals subject to explicitly stricter standards under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act:
“While I’m glad that EPA is proposing to limit or phase out three toxic PBT chemicals, the Agency’s proposal for two others is profoundly inadequate. In one case, EPA suggests restricting container size as a method for limiting chemical usage - a shockingly glib proposal that provides the chemical industry with a glaring loophole for continued largescale use. In another case, EPA declined to limit usage of the chemical at all, betraying the Agency’s core mission of protecting human health and its specific statutory mandate to reduce exposure to these dangerous substances.
“These toxic chemicals pose serious risk to Americans’ lives and livelihoods, and therefore demand a much more serious response than the one EPA has offered. The Lautenberg Act is explicitly clear on this point, and EPA needs to follow it. This Committee will hold the EPA’s feet to the fire until it does."
