Federal Policy
We’re working to change the way that chemicals are regulated so that the most dangerous ones don’t wind up polluting people, food, drinking water, and communities. We are also advancing new approaches to regulation that are prevention-based, driving the safest solutions and ensuring the existing laws are working to protect people and the environment.
To change the chemical safety landscape at the federal level:
- We educate policymakers from Congress to the Environmental Protection Agency to the Department of Defense
- We publish scientific research that shows the impact of harmful chemicals and pollution on people and wildlife, particularly the most vulnerable
- We build grassroots power and partnerships to compel the federal government to act
Support Our Federal Policy Work
Our Priorities
Congress: Ban toxic food packaging!
The Keep Food Containers Safe from PFAS Act of 2021 is a bipartisan bill that would ban the use of toxic PFAS in food containers and cookware. This legislation would help to prevent further pollution by prohibiting food packaging that contains intentionally added PFAS in at the federal level.
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EPA: Ban asbestos!
Asbestos is a notoriously toxic substance. A known carcinogen, it can cause fatal illnesses including mesothelioma, asbestosis, and cancers of the lung, larynx, and ovaries. It is estimated that each year more than 40,000 Americans die from entirely preventable asbestos-caused diseases. Today, while asbestos is banned in nearly 70 countries, it is not banned in the United States.
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EPA: Ban methylene chloride!
When fumes from methylene chloride-based paint strippers build up, the chemical can cause asphyxiation and heart attacks. It’s happened to dozens of people, including Kevin Hartley and Joshua Atkins. Not one more family should lose a loved one to these products.
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Impact
Our federal policy program was established in 2009 to fix the federal law for regulating chemicals, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). By organizing a coalition of hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals called Safer Chemicals Healthy Families, we convinced Congress and President Obama to reform the law in 2016. While the final bill wasn’t what we’d hoped for, it was still a major victory for public health in a time of federal policy gridlock. To dig deeper, learn more about the reform of TSCA and how the law is being implemented.
Since then, our work has prompted:
- EPA to ban deadly methylene chloride-based paint strippers for consumer use
- The Consumer Product Safety Commission to take action on toxic flame retardants in consumer products from electronics to mattresses
- Congress to begin to address the PFAS pollution crisis caused in part by the military’s use of toxic firefighting foam
