"With efforts to revamp the nation's chemical safety law stalled in Congress, the Obama administration's top environmental regulator vowed three years ago to act on her own to beef up the oversight of toxic substances. But key parts of the initiative by Lisa Jackson, the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are still bottled up in an obscure White House office under intense pressure from industry lobbyists to back off."
"Since Jackson sent the EPA's proposed changes to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the gatekeeper for federal rules, industry representatives have met 18 times with administration officials about the initiative, according to records posted on the White House website.
Under her proposal, the EPA would create a formal list of 'chemicals of concern' that 'may present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment.' The agency said creating the list would be the first step toward improved regulation of toxic chemicals, including rules that would prevent them from being used in new types of products or in imported goods.
Topping Jackson's proposed list are flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs. Others targeted include eight types of plastic-softening chemicals known as phthalates as well as bisphenol A, a compound added to food container linings."
Michael Hawthorne reports for the Chicago Tribune May 10, 2012.
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