Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt vowed Monday to clear the decks when it comes to a backlog of chemical reviews left over from the Obama administration.
“Reviewing new chemicals quickly will enable those deemed safe to enter the marketplace to support jobs and our economy,” Pruitt said.
So far, the agency has managed to split the backlog by half on new chemical reviews from 300 to 150. Pruitt wants to clear the remaining backlog by the end of July and will provide weekly updates on the agency’s progress.
EPA had its chemical review process updated by almost exactly one year ago through the passage of the bipartisan Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act.
Under the new chemical safety law, EPA must get through approvals within a certain timeframe. This means at any given time the agency has about 300 chemicals it is reviewing.
But when the Trump administration came into office in January, “the number under review had grown to about 600,” the agency said. “EPA is working hard to get the number of submissions under review back to the baseline.”
Pruitt said he is “committed” to working with industry going forward to get through the review process in a timely way.
