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#Formaldehyde, the #chemical of choice for undertakers & embalmers, is also used in products like furniture & clothes. But it can also cause #cancer & severe #respiratory problems. So, in 2021, the #EPA began a new effort to #regulate it.
The #chemicals industry fought back w/an intensity that astonished even seasoned ofcls. Its campaign was led by Lynn Dekleva, then a lobbyist at the American Chemistry Council, an #industry group that spends millions on govt #lobbying.
#PublicHealth #law #USpol

In recent weeks it has urged the #EPA to discard its work on #formaldehyde entirely & start from scratch…

The American Chemistry Council is also seeking to change the agency’s approval process for new #chemicals & speed up EPA’s #safety reviews. That review process is a key part of Dr. Dekelva’s purview at the agency.

Another fmr chemistry council lobbyist, Nancy Beck, is back alongside Dekleva at the EPA in a role regulating existing chemicals.
#Trump #PublicHealth #health #cancer #law #USpol

The council’s president, Chris Jahn, told a #Senate hearing shortly after the #Trump inauguration that his group intended to tackle the “unnecessary #regulation” of #chemicals in the #US. “A healthy nation, a secure nation, an economically vibrant nation relies on chemistry,” he said.

It is not unusual or unlawful for industry groups to seek to #influence public #policy in the interest of their member companies.

What has been extraordinary, #health & #legal experts said, is the extent of the #industry’s effort to block the EPA’s scientific work on a #chemical long acknowledged as a #carcinogen, & how the architect of the effort was back at the agency as a regulator of #chemicals. At the same time, the #Trump admin has moved to sharply reduce the federal scientific work force.

“They [the #Trump admin] already have a track record of ignoring the #science,” said Tracey Woodruff, director of the Program on Reproductive Health & the Environment at UCSF. “Now, they’re in charge of government agencies that decide the rules.”