Read the full article by Rebecca Beitsch (The Hill)
“Documents reviewed by The Hill show the White House intervened as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was weighing a strict ban on imports of products that contain a cancer-linked compound, substantially weakening the guidance.
The guidance in question sought to limit potential exposure to a group of chemicals abbreviated as PFAS, used as a nonstick coating on products ranging from raincoats to carpets to cookware. They’ve been dubbed ‘forever chemicals’ due to their persistence in the environment and the human body.
But as the EPA worked to limit the importation of any product with PFAS inside or out, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) stepped in and significantly watered down the guidance in December, barring importation of only those products with a PFAS coating on the outside.
‘It appears that OMB aggressively edited the guidance document to make it less protective of human health and the environment and to minimize the scope of a rule that’s intended to protect people from a very toxic class of chemicals,’ said Eve Gartner, managing attorney of the toxic exposure and health program at Earthjustice. ‘It’s troubling that OMB is using its review authority to undermine the protectiveness of a rule that’s designed to protect consumers…'”