Toxics

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler is strongly rejecting state regulators’ criticism of the Trump administration’s action plan targeting per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), saying their recent letter criticizing the plan includes “inaccurate” statements, such as that the plan fails to address the contaminants broadly as a class.

A National Academies of Sciences (NAS) panel is backing the use of chemical dispersants to address oil spills but is urging EPA and other agencies to harmonize their toxicity testing methods and take other steps to address them, advice that could help environmentalists who are pledging to sue to force the agency to update its rules on dispersants.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has overturned a second Obama-era rule requiring appliance and other manufacturers to replace climate-warming hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants, agreeing with two of the chemical’s producers that it should extend its prior precedent limiting such policies.

EPA leaders have quietly brought the agency's former children's health chief back though in a new role, after abruptly removing her last fall, sparking a firestorm of criticism and messaging efforts to show the topic remains important at the Trump EPA.