EPA has found that the ubiquitous solvent 1,4 dioxane poses risks to workers “in certain circumstances,” according to a newly released draft evaluation, opening the door to new workplace protections or limits on the chemical’s use under its revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) authority.
September 17, 2026
The Supreme Court’s decision faulting the Commerce Department for adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census based on a “contrived” post hoc pretext could bolster lawsuits targeting the Trump OSHA’s rule rollbacks, such as the pending case over its recordkeeping rule, where challengers say officials ignored or misrepresented the record.
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The Supreme Court by a 5-4 vote has preserved the long-standing doctrine that mandates judicial deference to OSHA and other agencies’ “reasonable” readings of ambiguities in their rules, but the majority’s emphasis on the doctrine’s limits prompted conservative justices to warn the test has been so weakened it may as well be “zombified."
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Facing a court deadline, the Trump administration has issued a final rule that codifies its earlier plans to strengthen its standards identifying hazards contractors and others face from lead paint dust in residences while declining to adopt a new definition of “lead paint,” an approach that appears likely to draw a suit from groups who criticized the proposed version of the plans.
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Advisors reviewing EPA’s first draft chemical risk evaluation under the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) have raised sharp concerns about several aspects of the draft assessment of pigment violet 29 (PV29), with some urging officials to gather more data on risks to workers and others because the draft does not support its threshold finding that the chemical doesn’t require risk management.
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The Supreme Court’s conservative wing is signaling a desire to radically strengthen its doctrine that bars Congress from giving agencies too much rulemaking discretion which in turn could impose major new limits on OSHA’s authority, though the justices in a new ruling held off on setting a new standard because of the unique nature of the decision.
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A House panel voted June 19 along party lines to approve Democratic legislation renewing and strengthening the Department of Homeland Security’s chemical facility safety program, though lawmakers pledged to continue working to reach a bipartisan deal before the program expires next year.
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Environmentalists are asking an appellate court in Washington, DC, to allow them to intervene in industry’s challenge to EPA’s ban on consumer uses of paint-stripping products containing methylene chloride (MC), a move that may ultimately lead the case to be consolidated with environmentalists’ separate suit in an appellate court in New York.
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OSHA’s fiscal year 2020 spending bill is likely to be part of a Capitol Hill battle after House Democrats attached a series of policy riders, including one barring the agency from implementing a planned rollback of its Obama-era beryllium standard for the maritime and construction sectors.
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Labor and other groups are urging EPA science advisors ahead of their upcoming meeting to examine whether the agency provided adequate data for its draft conclusion that pigment violet 29 (PV29) does not pose unreasonable risk to workers and other exposed populations, stepping up their long-running effort to challenge EPA’s first assessment of an existing chemical under the revised toxics law.
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The federal Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is renewing its long-standing recommendation that OSHA craft rules subjecting onshore oil and gas drilling operations to a specific safety standard following an investigation into a fatal 2018 rig explosion in Oklahoma.
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Setting a precedent for federal policymakers, Cal/OSHA is revising a draft proposal to expand its healthcare industry workplace violence prevention rules to all general industry, after reviewing comments from stakeholder groups that include opposition by employer representatives.
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Environmental and labor groups are suggesting they will sue the agency if it proceeds with its proposed training program for commercial users of paint-stripping products containing methylene chloride, charging the agency has failed to justify its approach after the Obama administration found the chemical posed unreasonable risks to workers.
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The House Education and Labor Committee has approved on bipartisan lines a bill that would set speedy deadlines for OSHA to adopt standards aimed at limiting workplace violence in the healthcare and social service sectors, though the measure faces limited prospects in the Republican-controlled Senate which is unlikely to consider the bill.
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Democratic state attorneys general (AG) and other groups are urging a federal court to vacate the Trump administration’s rule rolling back OSHA’s electronic reporting and record-keeping requirements, arguing the rollback is not justified, is “plagued” by errors and otherwise violates administrative law.
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EPA has approved an alternative disposal method for asbestos-containing pipe under the agency’s air toxics rules for asbestos, despite a labor group’s concerns that the new practice might not comply with OSHA requirements.
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A Senate panel is gearing up for a new round of debate on reauthorizing the Department of Homeland Security’s Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program, but senators signaled during a June 4 roundtable that while they agree on the need for a long-term extension, they remain divided over how much flexibility to provide.
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Labor unions and other groups challenging the Trump EPA’s framework rule on how the agency evaluates existing chemicals under the revised toxics law say that ongoing risks from legacy and other uses of substances currently being assessed show that they have standing to challenge the rule’s provision allowing the agency to preclude such uses from assessments.
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California lawmakers are advancing legislation that would specify an early 2020 deadline for Cal/OSHA to adopt a much tighter airborne lead exposure limit for workers, and establish that a blood-lead level of 20 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dl) or higher is a serious violation triggering Cal/OSHA investigations.
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A Texas refiner is petitioning a federal appellate court to review a controversial ruling from OSHA’s review panel that industry attorneys say “dramatically” expands the agency’s process safety management (PSM) rule's applicability to boilers and other “interconnected” units.
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