March 4, 2026 – Today, the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments joined 63 nursing and health organizations in sending a letter to Senators Capito and Whitehouse outlining the health community’s strong opposition to any efforts to weaken the nation’s main chemical safety law, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Originally passed in 1976, TSCA was strengthened by Congress in 2016 with overwhelming bipartisan support. TSCA is essential to safeguarding public health through comprehensive exposure reduction from harmful chemicals both already on the market and proposed to enter the market as well as testing chemicals for safety. Widespread exposure to harmful industrial, commercial, and consumer chemicals poses significant risks to human health, with particularly serious implications for susceptible populations, including infants, children, pregnant women, and workers.
In response to today’s hearing, the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments’ Deputy Director Cara Cook, MS, RN, AHN-BC issued the following statement:
“People across the nation count on health professionals to advocate for environmental policy that protects health. The number and breadth of health groups that have come together to oppose reopening TSCA shows there is strong support in the health community for the 2016 TSCA updates.
In the last 10 years, TSCA has delivered real results – it has banned asbestos and dangerous paint strippers and prevented new dangerous chemicals, including some PFAS, from entering the market. Unfortunately chemical industry lobbyists are pressuring members of Congress to reopen TSCA and weaken the protections provided by the law. Further alarming is the potential to weaken state authority to protect residents from harmful chemicals. TSCA must be preserved to protect people across the nation from toxic chemical exposures”
