On Tuesday, Attorney General Kwame Raoul led a coalition of 14 attorneys general in sending a letter to Congress. In the letter, the coalition pushed members of Congress to oppose two Congressional bills that would prohibit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from relying on scientific assessments from the Integrated Risk System (IRIS) program.
According to Raoul, these are both critical in protecting Americans against deadly exposure to toxic chemicals. The letter is also urging Congress to oppose the Trump administration’s plans to dismantle the EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) which is the research arm of the EPA that provides the scientific basis for EPA’s work.
“I am urging Congress to oppose the Trump administration’s attack on science and the Office of Research and Development, which is critical to helping the EPA and states protect residents from toxic chemicals,” Raoul said. “The EPA must be able to conduct research and rely on scientific data in order to help Illinois and states across the nation identify and address the presence of toxic chemicals directly linked to cancer, birth defects and learning disabilities.”
The coalition’s letter explains that IRIS assessments are the result of an unbiased, scientific review that determines the levels where the many chemicals entering the environment through industry and other sources are harmful to human health.
By not knowing the level at which these chemicals can cause a risk to human health, including cancer and birth defects, the coalition said it would be hard for the EPA to protect the public from exposure and that would jeopardize the health and safety of the country.
The letter also said that the ORD conducts necessary research that is used in many areas, including protecting drinking water sources from natural disasters and terrorist attacks, studying air pollution caused by wildfire smoke and researching PFAS and other emerging contaminants.
According to Raoul, the current reported plan to dissolve the ORD and fire over 1,000 scientists would have instant consequences and make it much harder for the EPA to meet its requirements of using the best available resources to inform its work. The ORD provides important scientific and technical resources to states that help protect residents from environmental pollutants that cause significant health risks.
In Illinois, ORD gave essential support to the Illinois EPA in identifying how to best protect University Park locals when a change by the water utility supplier led to dangerously high levels of lead in the drinking water in 2019.
Additionally, the letter said that IRIS assessments are used by the EPA to figure out which communities across the country face higher risks from exposure to hundreds of toxic chemicals. After the IRIS assessment for ethylene oxide was updated in 2016, the EPA determined that people living and working near a commercial medical sterilizer in Willowbrook faced a significant risk of cancer.
As a result, the state enacted legislation to greatly reduce allowable emissions of ethylene oxide from commercial sterilization facilities.
“Americans deserve to know that their air, water and other natural resources are not dangerous to their health and well-being,” Raoul said. “I will continue to advocate for the safety and welfare of our communities.”
Attorneys general from the following locations joined Raoul in sending the letter to Congress:
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