{"id":221470,"date":"2025-01-22T15:44:12","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T15:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/22\/two-industry-officials-expected-to-help-oversee-e-p-a-chemical-rules\/"},"modified":"2025-01-22T15:44:13","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T15:44:13","slug":"two-industry-officials-expected-to-help-oversee-e-p-a-chemical-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/22\/two-industry-officials-expected-to-help-oversee-e-p-a-chemical-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Industry Officials Expected to Help Oversee E.P.A. Chemical Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/01\/21\/multimedia\/21cli-trump-chemicals-wfkb\/21cli-trump-chemicals-wfkb-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Two Industry Officials Expected to Help Oversee E.P.A. Chemical Rules\" title=\"Two Industry Officials Expected to Help Oversee E.P.A. Chemical Rules\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A former chemical-industry executive who fought against stronger regulations under the first Trump administration is returning to take a critical role at the Environmental Protection Agency, two people with knowledge of the appointment said, raising concerns of corporate influence on chemical safety regulations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Nancy B. Beck, a toxicologist and former executive at the American Chemistry Council, the industry\u2019s main trade group, is set to reprise a role helping to oversee chemical policy similar to the one she held from 2017 to 2021, though her exact title and scope of work has yet to be determined, the people said. The chemistry council represents dozens of chemical companies and major manufacturers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Dr. Beck is credited with leading a wide-ranging pushback against chemical regulations during the first Trump administration, as well as what a subsequent internal investigation described as <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/03\/24\/climate\/trump-science-epa.html\" title=\"\">political interference in agency science<\/a> and policymaking. She <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/21\/us\/trump-epa-chemicals-regulations.html\" title=\"\">rewrote rules<\/a>, for example, that made it harder to track the health consequences of a \u201cforever chemical\u201d linked to cancer, and therefore to regulate it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">She also helped scale back proposed bans on other substances like <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/05\/08\/climate\/epa-asbestos-rule-scientists.html\" title=\"\">asbestos<\/a> and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/03\/15\/climate\/epa-paint-stripper-methylene-chloride.html\" title=\"\">methylene chloride<\/a>, a harmful chemical found in paint thinners. Neither the E.P.A. nor Dr. Beck responded to requests for comment for this article.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Hunton Andrews Kurth, the law firm where Dr. Beck served most recently as director of regulatory science, said she was no longer with the firm. Dr. Beck is listed in the E.P.A. staff directory as a political appointee.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Dr. Beck is expected to be joined by Lynn Ann Dekleva, who also worked for the American Chemistry Council, who is set to return to a role helping to oversee new chemicals as deputy assistant administrator, though her title could still change, the people said. An environmental engineer by training, her career in the chemicals industry includes more than three decades at DuPont, the chemicals giant.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.epaoig.gov\/reports\/administrative-investigation\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Recent reports<\/a> released by the E.P.A.\u2019s <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.epaoig.gov\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Office of Inspector General<\/a> said that, under Dr. Dekleva, employees were pushed to approve new chemicals based on less stringent assessments and were retaliated against if they raised concerns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Dr. Dekleva did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Chris Jahn, chief executive of the American Chemistry Council, said in a statement that the group looked forward \u201cto working with all EPA staff in support of sound science\u201d and policy to strengthen America\u2019s competitiveness and create jobs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The appointments of Dr. Beck and Dr. Dekleva to advisory or deputy jobs at the agency are not expected to require approval by Congress. Dr. Beck was previously nominated to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2020, but did not get to a Congressional vote after Democrats and environmental groups <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/03\/03\/climate\/consumer-product-safety-commission-nancy-beck.html\" title=\"\">accused her<\/a> of using her previous government positions to advance the chemical industry\u2019s agenda. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cNancy Beck, E.P.A.\u2019s \u2018toxics czar\u2019 during the first Trump Administration, is back to fulfill the chemical industry\u2019s wish list,\u201d said Daniel Rosenberg, director of federal toxics policy at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group. \u201cThe weakening of health protections\u201d from toxic chemicals \u201cis just around the corner,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Over the past four years the Biden administration has tried to catch up on regulating the most dangerous chemicals on the market, as required under a law <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/05\/20\/us\/politics\/toxic-substances-chemicals-environment.html\" title=\"\">that was strengthened in 2016<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Biden administration proposed or finalized restrictions <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/19january2017snapshot.epa.gov\/newsreleases\/epa-names-first-chemicals-review-under-new-tsca-legislation_.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">on 10 dangerous chemicals<\/a>, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/18\/climate\/biden-administration-bans-asbestos.html\" title=\"\">including<\/a> <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/09\/climate\/epa-dry-cleaning-chemical-ban-perc-tce.html\" title=\"\">trichloroethylene<\/a>, a chemical used in cleaners and lubricants also linked to cancer, as well as <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/18\/climate\/biden-administration-bans-asbestos.html\" title=\"\">asbestos<\/a>, a heat- and fire-resistant mineral widely used in building materials that can cause cancer and lung disease. Currently, more than 80,000 chemicals on the market are not subject to environmental testing or regulation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Biden administration also set the first-ever <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/10\/climate\/epa-pfas-drinking-water.html\" title=\"\">federal standards for PFAS in drinking water<\/a>, and designated two types of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/19\/climate\/epa-pfas-superfund-cleanup.html\" title=\"\">PFAS as hazardous substances<\/a> under a law that shifts the responsibility for the cleanup of toxic sites from taxpayers to industry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The chemicals industry has asked the Trump administration to roll back many of those rules. In <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/nam.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Manufacturers-Regulatory-Letter-to-President-Elect-Trump_12.5.24.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a letter to Mr. Trump<\/a> last month, a coalition of industry groups, including the chemistry council, called for a reversal of what they called the Biden administration\u2019s \u201cunscientific, sledgehammer approach\u201d to chemical policy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the letter, the industry groups in particular ask the Trump administration to revisit PFAS drinking-water standards and the designation of the two PFAS chemicals as hazardous. They also press the E.P.A. to speed up its review of new chemicals, and to roll back its effort to place new regulations on existing chemicals, something chemical companies said was causing \u201cconfusion, duplication and overregulation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/22\/climate\/epa-chemical-industry-beck-dekleva.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A former chemical-industry executive who fought against stronger regulations under the first Trump administration is returning to take a critical role at the Environmental Protection Agency, two people with knowledge of the appointment said, raising concerns of corporate influence on chemical safety regulations. Nancy B. Beck, a toxicologist and former executive at the American Chemistry [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/01\/21\/multimedia\/21cli-trump-chemicals-wfkb\/21cli-trump-chemicals-wfkb-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[174239,174240,14558,130,169716,4652,165183,1504,617,174241,120,43618,165180,164110,899,163486],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221470"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221470"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":221472,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221470\/revisions\/221472"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}