Chemical Reform Agenda
PEER has a long track record of representing whistleblowers and working with anonymous government employees who want to hold their agencies accountable for protecting public health and the environment from toxic chemicals and pollution.
Our work focuses on five areas:
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Protecting scientists in their work.
- Ensuring that any chemical in commerce is safe or can be managed to protect human health and the environment.
- Fighting to have systems in place to ensure we use the safest and healthiest products possible.
- Making sure that if industry causes unsafe levels of pollution or chemical accidents, the public knows immediately, and the responsible party pays to clean it up
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Increasing government transparency to allow for better decision making and accountability.
Because of chemicals, humans have progressed in extraordinary ways.
However, the overuse and mismanagement of chemicals are causing significant long-term threats to a livable planet. Exposure to toxic chemicals can harm children, shorten life expectancy, and negatively affect the well-being of all living things for generations. Together with climate change and biodiversity loss, the mismanagement of chemicals is a significant obstacle to a livable planet.
LEARN MORE
New Chemicals Need Closer Scrutiny
EPA does not have reasonable assurance that the new chemicals review process is properly considering and addressing risks to public health and the environment. PEER is working to change that. Learn more»
EPA Scientists Punished for Identifying Chemical Risks
The Inspector General found EPA retaliated against scientists because they protested watering down risk assessments for new chemicals being approved for commercial release. Learn more»
Strengthening the Chemical Safety Board
The Chemicals Safety Board suffers from personnel issues, industry influence, and weak regulations. PEER works to strengthen this agency’s capacity to respond to accidents. Learn more»
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A SNAPSHOT OF PEER’S PAST EFFORTS
Here are some examples of how PEER has made a difference:
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Revealed that EPA had hidden thousands of industry reports from the public and their own scientists about the substantial health risks from chemicals already on the market. Our subsequent legal action caused EPA to post these reports once again.
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Identified the presence of PFAS, a toxic class of chemicals known as “forever chemicals,” in products such as plastic containers, fertilizers, pesticides, and artificial turf. We are working to get these products off the market and to promote safer alternatives.
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Helped to stop the use of radioactive phosphor-gypsum to build highways. This dangerous scheme was a big giveaway to the fertilizer industry over the objections of EPA’s staff experts.
PEER’S PERSPECTIVE
Reforming EPA’s New Chemicals Program
READ MORE NEWS ON PUBLIC HEALTH
Massachusetts PFAS Plan Good Start, But Too Limited
Sets Limits too High, Omits Thousands of PFAS and Fails to Address Sources
BLOG: Weak Industrial Accident Emissions Rule Final But Not Effective
After more than 20 years of delay and a successful lawsuit by PEER and chemical safety advocacy groups, the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) dashed hopes that it would at long last issue a robust rule requiring the reporting of incidents involving the release of dangerous chemicals from oil refineries and other industrial facilities.
Artificial Turf’s Big Lie: Old Fields Not Recycled
No Recycling Facilities, So Tons of Plastic Carpet Dumped
Groups Petition EPA to Regulate PFAS Waste
Absence of any federal standards for tracking and managing wastes contaminated with toxic polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) poses a major and growing threat to our health, water, and soil.
PEERMail: Exploding in a Neighborhood Near You
America’s industrial infrastructure suffers from aging pipes prone to corrosive leaks leading to ignition that have led to near-catastrophic accidents..
Industrial Accident Emissions Reporting Plan Too Weak
CSB Proposal Would Not Produce Useful, Accurate, or Timely Information
BLOG: EPA Continues to Approve Bee-Killing Insecticides
With over 40 percent of insect life threatened with extinction, the EPA continues to issue emergency exemptions to toxic pollinator-killing insecticides.
Colorado Lags in Controlling Forever Chemicals
Dangerous Levels of PFAS in Drinking Water Without Enforceable Limits
