EPA safer tech, chemicals requirements targeted

The Donald J. Trump administration is likely to target a requirement that chemical-handling facilities analyze the use of safer technologies or substances. This anticipated move is part of the government’s plan, announced in a court filing last week, to reshape a 2024 risk management regulation. For years, chemical manufacturers and other industries have opposed what the US Environmental Protection Agency calls safer technologies and alternatives analysis. In a March 2024 regulation , the Joe Biden EPA incorporated requirements for companies to conduct such assessments—and if facilities don’t adopt the safer measures, to justify why they don’t. That sweeping rule is aimed at reducing the frequency and severity of accidents at nearly 11,740 US chemical plants, warehouses, storage sites, and other facilities. According to the EPA , about 131 million people live within 3 mi (4.8 km) of these facilities. In a Jan. 30 letter , a coalition of industry lobbying