EPA bans widely used chemicals linked to cancer before Trump takes office
EPA bans widely used chemicals linked to cancer before Trump takes office
Move to ban TCE and perc, commonly used in everyday products, will make it hard for Trump to undo rules
Summary
The EPA has banned TCE and perc, toxic chemicals linked to cancer, liver and kidney damage, and other severe health issues.
Widely used in dry cleaning, degreasers, and consumer products, these substances have contaminated groundwater and air, particularly near military bases.
The ban, which reverses Trump-era rollbacks and surpasses Obama-era proposals, has been welcomed by public health advocates but opposed by industry groups.
The four-year timeline to undo the ban makes it difficult for the incoming Trump administration to reverse, despite its intent to loosen chemical regulations.
If Trump gets his way the whole EPA won't exist anymore, so any rules on undoing the ban would go with it.
Agreed. I like where their head is, but when you're working with people trying to raze the government to the ground instead of actually governing, good luck enforcing anything.
In theory, if this ban wasn't happening at the last moment, it might force manufacturers to transition off of current processes and they might simply not transition back because it'd be too expensive.
Given the short time frame most of those manufacturers would probably just prefer to suspend business until Trump takes office.
You mean eat the fines at best, not suspend business.
At best. Most likely they will get bogged down in court before a Trump judge rules the regulation unconstitutional.
Good job waiting until the last fucking minute. Now reversing this decision will be extremely simple because the new rule barely had time to take effect.
This is a PR move.
Why are so many departments suddenly doing shit that should have been done years ago?
So Democrats can point to deregulations for donations and votes.
Probably because studies and rule crafting to avoid rule conflicts and legal disputes take time.
The ban would take about four years to undo, making it difficult for the Trump administration to reverse.
Am I supposed to believe that? They can just break the law. They control the Court.
The point of doing this years ago would be to get people used to the ban, so it'd already be locked in by inertia. Companies would have already made the shift and the public would be used to these protections.
This is politics, not bureaucracy.
I wanted to reply and add on to the other comments about the generalized horsefuckery of politics before rulemaking, but everyone hit the bases real well!
Spent a year working at a dry cleaners. The first time I opened that machine and got blasted in the face with perc vapors I imagined it must be like being exposed on a planet with a methane atmosphere. That is some harsh stuff. After that job I inventoried hazardous chemicals at a pharma research site, and nothing they had hit my lungs and eyes like perc. The labs at least had good ventilation. Dry cleaning is a harsh business. It was disgusting and dangerous in all kinds of ways no other job I've had has been.