On March 18, 2020, EPN submitted comments in response to EPA’s announcement that it was seeking public input on its draft risk evaluation of the chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). TCE is a highly toxic substance used primarily to make refrigerants and other hydrofluorocarbons and as a degreasing solvent used for metal equipment and in dry cleaning. Prolonged or repeated exposure to TCE poses serious health risks to adults, including kidney and liver cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and can cause heart defects and even death in fetuses. Risk evaluations are conducted to determine whether a chemical substance like TCE presents unreasonable risks to health or the environment. EPN’s review found that the administration may have intervened in the scientific assessment of TCE—an egregious act that raises the possibility of manipulations in earlier evaluations as well as in those to come.
Read a summary.
Read the comments.