A federal district court judge ruled the nation’s premier toxics law requires EPA to disclose more information on new chemicals submitted for review, a win for environmental groups challenging the agency’s alleged lack of transparency.
The public has “an enduring right to information that lasts before, during, and after any risk determination,” Judge Loren AliKhan at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia wrote in a Tuesday opinion.
The 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act not only require EPA to determine if new chemicals pose any health or environmental risks before they enter the market, but it also is “mandatory” for the agency to publish a notice and all nonconfidential information from pre-manufacture notice (PMN) applications online within five business days, wrote AliKhan, a Biden appointee.
Samantha Liskow, lead counsel for healthy communities at the Environmental Defense Fund, one of the organizations that brought the suit, said the “decision recognizes a hallmark strength of our nation’s key chemicals law.”
