While EPA Fails to Regulate Toxic Chemicals, the Industry Fills the Void

The current EPA Administration has failed to create badly-needed regulations of new chemicals under the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA). TSCA is the law that empowered EPA regulators to ban lead paint, remove asbestos from our homes and schools, and ensure that our shared spaces don’t contain dangerous levels of radon or mercury. Congress passed a bill to modernize TSCA in 2016 to ensure that regulators have the power to protect Americans against a host of chemicals used in an array of
household products from paints and paint strippers to floor stains and varnishes. Yet the EPA remains silent while companies continue to sell products that contain chemicals we know are toxic. One such chemical is 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, commonly known as NMP. It is widely used in paint strippers and wood floor coatings and is the subject of growing concern for health experts around the world.