Risk Assessment

Articles & Analysis

OMB Role in EPA Chemical Program Questioned

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has repeatedly inserted itself in the development of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program designed to study the effects of chemicals on human and animal endocrine systems.

California Seeks to Add New Chemicals to Prop. 65 List

California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is proposing to add 30 chemicals linked to reproductive harm and cancer to the state's Proposition 65 list. Proposition 65, a statute passed by California voters in 1986, requires the state to list chemicals known to cause public health problems and bars some actions that could expose people to the substances.

EPA Regains Control of Toxic Chemical Studies

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is changing the way it studies the health effects of industrial chemicals in an attempt to quicken the pace at which new assessments are completed and to limit political interference in the scientific process.

OSHA Agenda Will Include Diacetyl, Secretary Says

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis announced that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) intends to limit workers' exposure to the food flavoring chemical diacetyl. Diacetyl regulation was one of the many worker protection issues left unresolved by the Bush administration.

GAO Report Highlights High-Risk Areas

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its latest report to Congress Jan. 22 highlighting the wide range of high-risk areas in government that it urges the new Congress and administration to address. The report updates the areas already on GAO's list and adds three new high-risk areas: the outdated financial regulatory system, medical product oversight and regulation, and toxic chemical assessment.

Climate Change Disclosure Becomes an Investor Thing

Recent actions by investors and the New York State Attorney General are pressuring companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and the risks they face from climate change. Many regard such information as essential to investors' right to know about the potential liabilities facing thousands of industries as the climate warms and new emissions regulations become a near certainty.

FDA Fighting Mounting Evidence on BPA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to claim there is insufficient evidence about the health effects of a chemical widely used in consumer products to justify regulating the substance. Evidence is mounting from a variety of other sources, however, that bisphenol-A (BPA) may affect human development and mental health. FDA continues to advise consumers that there is no reason to "discontinue using products that contain BPA."

Secret Risk Assessment Rule Aims to Halt Worker Safety Protections

The Bush administration is trying to rush through a Department of Labor (DOL) draft rule to require new worker safety standards to be based on a new risk assessment process that would potentially tie the hands of future administrations. The new rule was sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review in secret, violating the process OIRA has insisted agencies use for rulemaking.

White House Climate Change Policy -- Delay, Delete, and Deny

The Bush administration continues its strong efforts to censor climate change information that reaches the public and Congress. Recent reports indicate that the White House pressured the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make changes to its regulatory process regarding climate change and that Vice President Dick Cheney's office was responsible for suppressing key sections of the congressional testimony of a high-level official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Congress, FDA Explore BPA Dangers

Congress and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have begun to further explore the dangers posed by bisphenol A (BPA) and whether to regulate its use, especially in food and beverage containers. BPA is an industrial chemical used to make hard plastic containers, such as baby bottles, and is part of the lining of food cans, where it is used to prevent metal from leaching into foods. Congress recently held a hearing and is considering legislation to limit the use of BPA. The FDA is assessing the toxicity of the chemical to help determine the risk to consumers.