Complying with statutory mandates, EPA has formally listed the next 20 existing chemicals it will review for possible regulation under the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), even as the agency continues to struggle to meet the law’s deadlines for reviewing the first 10 substances.
September 17, 2026
A coalition of environmentalists has filed suit against EPA’s rollback of an Obama-era regulation tightening facility safety mandates on the same day the measure was promulgated, arguing the Trump administration has removed nearly all disaster-prevention measures and weakened many of the other protections that were in the 2017 rule.
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A new ad hoc coalition of companies is preparing to challenge the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board’s (CSB) recent plan requiring industrial facilities to quickly report certain accidental chemicals releases, charging, among other things, that the proposal is burdensome, duplicative and overly broad.
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EPA is facing likely challenges over its rule rolling back Obama-era chemical facility safety requirements, with early signs pointing to the parties battling over the adequacy of the agency’s legal justifications, including its claim that the original rule failed to sufficiently weigh an arson finding at a key industrial incident and its cost-benefit analysis.
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Acting OSHA chief Loren Sweatt is touting the agency’s efforts to ramp up inspections while also pursuing “innovative” outreach efforts to employers to inform them about compliance with agency rules, saying that overall enforcement at the agency is “headed in the right direction.”
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Top EPA officials Dec. 10 sought to detail a long-awaited, updated approach to reviewing new chemicals under the agency’s revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) authorities but officials offered few, if any, new details and drew renewed criticisms from industry, environmentalists and other stakeholders.
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A top OSHA official says companies’ efforts to exceed compliance with EPA regulations and pursue sustainability as a core business concept provide a model for how OSHA wants firms to “race to the top” on strengthening worker safety protections, asking an agency advisory panel for advice on how to improve safety and health management.
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The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) is proposing a rule that would require industrial facilities to quickly report to the CSB certain accidental chemical releases, a measure that when finalized could fill in gaps left by the Trump EPA’s rule rolling back the agency’s Risk Management Plan (RMP) program.
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Health and labor groups, along with two top Democrats, are raising concerns about OSHA’s plan to revise exposure standards for beryllium in the shipyard and construction sectors, and are urging changes to the plan to better protect workers’ health, highlighting a clash with industry groups who are threatening to sue OSHA if it finalizes the rule.
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A federal appeals court has overturned a lower court ruling that blocked the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) from enforcing subpoenas related to “potential” releases, with the three-judge panel finding the board’s reach includes the power to subpoena documents to examine the “potential harm” stemming from an industrial accident.
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A federal judge is grappling with tough questions on standing and review standards as he weighs whether to dismiss on both procedural and substantive grounds a potentially precedent-setting suit challenging EPA’s denial of a Toxic Substances Control Act’s (TSCA) citizen petition which asked the agency to ban drinking water fluoridation.
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New OSHA data shows a slight uptick in total inspections in fiscal year 2019, but a former top Obama official is faulting the agency for declining inspection levels compared to the end of the previous administration, saying that even though inspections rose to 33,401 compared to 32,023 in FY18, overall inspection levels have plunged during the Trump administration.
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EPA is rejecting calls from former officials, labor and other advocates to exercise special “emergency” authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to quickly address the risks of methylene chloride, the widely used solvent, to workers and others arguing that the agency’s draft risk evaluation does not justify taking such an action.
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Major industry organizations are renewing their concerns over OSHA’s proposal to revise the standards for occupational exposure to beryllium and beryllium compounds in the shipyard and construction sectors, with the groups warning that the plan might be unlawful -- a hint of possible legal challenges if OSHA finalizes the plan.
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As EPA’s ban on consumer uses of paint strippers containing methylene chloride (MC) takes effect, former officials are urging the agency to quickly adopt a host of emergency limits on commercial and other uses of the substance, citing a recent draft assessment that found they pose “unreasonable risks” to workers and others that must quickly be addressed.
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OSHA has slowed plans to advance key rules it is developing, including measures addressing significant hazards for emergency response workers and a draft health care workplace violence standard, according to its fall update to its Unified Agenda, a move that is sparking criticism from safety advocates.
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Appellate judges are suggesting they may overturn a lower court ruling that limited the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board’s (CSB) ability, as part of an accident investigation, to subpoena documents to study risks of “potential” releases of hazardous chemicals into the environment.
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Supporters of legislation banning the use and importation of asbestos under EPA’s toxics authority are gearing up to advance the bill in the Senate after the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted overwhelmingly Nov. 19 to approve a bipartisan compromise, which gives the chlor-alkali industry as much as 10 years to phase-in the ban.
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The Trump administration has issued a final rule that rolls back Obama-era chemical facility safety requirements even as officials previewed its legal defenses against all but certain challenges from Democratic states and environmentalists who had threatened to sue over the 2018 proposal that the agency largely codified.
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Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) plans a “hard” push next year to advance in the Senate just-passed House legislation that would force OSHA to issue workplace violence standards for the healthcare and social service sectors, saying the more than 30 Republicans backing the House bill suggest it could attract similar bipartisan support in the Senate.
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