Toxic Chemical Bans Are Being Gutted: Demand EPA Protect Our Families

The science is settled and the human cost is staggering. Trichloroethylene (TCE) causes cancer, organ damage, and fatal heart defects in babies. It increases Parkinson’s risk by 70% in exposed populations. Daniel Kinel, a former lawyer whose office sat next to a TCE-leaking dry cleaner, developed Parkinson’s after years of unknowing exposure. At least 15 of his coworkers were diagnosed with TCE-linked cancers. At Camp Lejeune, hundreds of Marines and their families developed Parkinson’s or cancer after drinking contaminated water for years. Retired Marine Jerry Ensminger lost his 9-year-old daughter to TCE-induced leukemia. This chemical has already infiltrated the drinking water of over 17 million Americans, with dangerous plumes lurking beneath communities from Massachusetts to Kansas. After decades of evidence and heartbreak, the EPA finally banned TCE in December 2024. That victory lasted weeks. Since taking office, the Trump administration has systematically dismantled these protections. Republicans in Congress moved to repeal the TCE ban via the Congressional Review Act. Chemical industry groups sued to block it. A Trump executive order stalled enforcement. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has delayed implementation four times. But TCE is just the beginning. Officials have signaled plans to roll back bans on five additional deadly substances: methylene chloride, a paint stripper that has killed dozens of workers; PCE, another dry-cleaning carcinogen; carbon tetrachloride; and asbestos. The administration terminated over $15 million in chemical safety research, installed former American Chemistry Council executive Nancy Beck to oversee regulation, and now grants companies safety exemptions via email. Health Secretary Kennedy warns about toxins on television while the agencies meant to stop them are gutted behind closed doors. More than 100 public health organizations have warned that postponing these bans will cause “preventable death, disease and incapacitation.” Even supporters of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement call the approval of new toxic pesticides a “deep betrayal.” This isn’t partisan. Nearly 90,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s every year. Childhood cancer rates continue climbing. Every delayed regulation means more families drinking contaminated water, more children born with preventable defects, more parents burying kids who should have outlived them. I urge you to demand full enforcement of existing chemical bans, restore research funding, and reject any policy that prioritizes industry profits over American lives. The evidence is overwhelming. The suffering is real. Act now.