EPA is proposing a revised occupational exposure value (OEV) for formaldehyde that shifts the focus from a chronic exposure scenario to one that aims to protect against acute effects as well as other long-term effects, such as cancer, although the revised OEV is still more stringent than OSHA’s 1992 permissible exposure limit (PEL).
September 16, 2026
The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) is opening an investigation into a fatal explosion at a munitions plant in Humphreys County, TN, where a team will be deployed to conduct an initial assessment of the incident location and other investigation efforts to determine the cause of the disaster.
Date:
Chemical industry groups are continuing their long-running effort to have Congress renew a lapsed chemical safety program, citing in part concerns over worker safety and security gaps that undermine the industry’s operational integrity and ability to remain secure from the threat of terror attacks.
Date:
The Trump EPA plans to expand its chemicals office “by at least 130 people,” the office’s top political appointee told staff earlier this week, which is expected to speed TSCA reviews of chemicals, including consideration of risks to workers, though the additional personnel are being moved from EPA’s gutted research office, a move that is drawing criticism.
Date:
Industry experts are urging chemical manufacturers to proactively share occupational exposure data with EPA during TSCA risk evaluations of existing chemicals, even if the data was collected for other regulatory purposes, and provide contextual details that could result in more accurate assessments.
Date:
A medical sterilizer is suing EPA over its rule limiting occupational exposures to ethylene oxide (EtO) under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), a move that comes after the agency announced it will reconsider its air toxics rules for such facilities and puts more pressure on EPA to overturn a key EtO risk assessment.
Date:
Industry is pressing Trump administration officials to make numerous changes to its draft scoping document for the TSCA risk evaluation of vinyl chloride, with manufacturers arguing EPA must acknowledge “unreasonable risk” is not just any type of risk and pointing to existing protections for workers.
Date:
EPA deputy chemicals chief Nancy Beck is reminding agency science advisors that TSCA evaluations inform regulations that have “real consequences” for both workers and the general public who need to use chemicals such as 1,3-butadiene, and urged them to let staff know if the Biden-era evaluation missed something or is “overly conservative.”
Date:
A leading chemical industry attorney is urging the Trump administration to engage industry and other stakeholders in strengthening the coordination between EPA and OSHA, arguing that a newly issued memorandum of understanding (MOU) fails to provide the necessary clarity on their respective regulatory roles.
Date:
The Trump EPA is signaling plans to scale back Biden-era approaches for evaluating -- and thus regulating -- worker and other risks under TSCA, asking a federal appellate court to remand the so-called “framework” rule so that officials can reconsider it “in its entirety,” Nancy Beck, EPA’s newly appointed deputy chemicals chief, told the court.
Date: