Trump Administration Guts Collection of Data on Toxic Chemicals

WASHINGTON – Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler today announced an irresponsible plan to scale back the use of animal testing for laboratory studies on chemicals.  Animal tests help scientists discover life-saving treatments and can also help identify chemicals that harm people and the environment.  They provide critical information about how chemicals work in complex biological systems like humans.

The EPA is announcing it will instead use alternative testing methods based on computer models, cells, and proteins.  These methods can be useful but may not be sufficient for testing all chemicals.

The following is a statement from Jennifer Sass, senior scientist for the Healthy People and Thriving Communities program at the Natural Resources Defense Council:

“EPA is eliminating tools that lay the groundwork for protecting the public from dangers like chlorpyrifos, formaldehyde and PFAS. Phasing out foundational scientific testing methods can make it much harder to identify toxic chemicals—and protect human health.  

“Once again, the Trump administration appears to be working on behalf of the chemical industry and not the public.  Congress should bar the agency from blindfolding itself.”

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The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC