EPA’s just-released draft risk assessment of formaldehyde links the chemical to myeloid leukemia based on a controversial study of workplace exposures, but does not use that finding in its cancer risk estimate due to modeling data uncertainty, resulting in a risk value that is an order of magnitude less strict than in 2010 and very close to its last final review in 1991.
September 17, 2026
EPA is proposing to ban all ongoing uses of chrysotile asbestos in its most aggressive use yet of the reformed TSCA, based on its Trump-era findings that the chemical poses “unreasonable risks” to workers in the chlor-alkali and other sectors as well the public, but industry is already arguing that the rule is based on a flawed understanding of OSHA safeguards.
Date:
Major labor unions are warning EPA that while they support its efforts to strengthen consideration of workplace protective gear in chemical risk evaluations, officials “misunderstand” OSHA’s requirements and have failed to fully address harsh interagency criticisms on the subject that were issued in response to a draft Trump-era chemical review.
Date:
Worker safety advocates say the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) new report urging the Biden administration to account for climate and environmental justice (EJ) risks in an upcoming update to its risk management program (RMP) facility safety rule bolsters their longstanding calls to restore and strengthen the Obama-era version of the rule, especially as scientists see climate risks growing.
Date:
Chemical industry sources say OSHA has been “dismissive” of their concerns over its controversial proposal to add new data requirements for downstream chemical uses to its updated Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), and are not ruling out legal action if the agency proceeds with the rule as proposed.
Date:
A chemical industry group says it expects OSHA to finalize an updated Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) as early as the fall but is warning that the rule as proposed could exacerbate current supply chain issues in part because its new requirements for data on risks posed by downstream chemical uses are “impossible to comply with.”
Date:
OSHA has released four new regulatory interpretation letters that clarify requirements for companies' safety data sheets (SDS) under the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), including new guidance on labeling variant products and lithium-ion batteries even as the agency is weighing a broader overhaul of the standard itself.
Date:
Environmental groups are urging EPA to draw on OSHA data on workplace chemical exposures in its newly announced “tiered” reporting rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), alongside arguments that officials should tighten their current plans for the rule in order to generate new data that could aid OSHA and other agencies.
Date:
Over the objections of labor unions and other groups, a federal appellate court has granted Biden administration requests to remand Trump-era evaluations of the flame retardant cluster known as HBCD as well as the solvent 1,4-dioxane, clearing the way for officials to redo the analyses without necessarily addressing petitioners’ legal claims.
Date:
A top official at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) says the sheer number of engineered nanomaterials in use has made targeted toxicity testing impractical despite a reporting mandate forcing agencies to focus on identifying analogues they can use as the basis for risk assessments.
Date: