The revocation of restrictions on known toxic substances is a legacy of the Bush administration's assault on the environment. It may take decades to undo the damage done by Bush's anti-enviromental, anti-science policies

From a report published in 2002:

> It is clear that every federal agency with authority over environmental programs has been enlisted in a coordinated effort to help oil, coal, logging, mining, chemical, and auto companies and others promote their short-term profits at the expense of America’s public health and natural heritage. The agencies include the Interior Department, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Forest Service, the Energy Department, and the Army Corps of Engineers.

> In November, EPA Administrator Christine Whitman signed a package of final and proposed rules that would exempt some 17,000 of the country’s biggest polluting facilities from having to install pollution-control equipment. The EPA’s sweeping changes would expand loopholes to exempt old, coalfired power plants, chemical plants, oil refineries, and other facilities from federal regulation. As expected, the changes also would make it harder for the federal government to sue companies for violating the new-source-review provision.

> CORPORATE WEALTH TRUMPS PUBLIC HEALTH Every day Americans are exposed to thousands of toxic chemicals, including hundreds known to pose serious harm to them and their environment. Policy decisions regarding these chemicals should be based on how they affect public health. Under the Bush administration, however, the burden of proof about chemicals’ harmful effects has shifted from industry to the public.

> As part of a mandatory six-year review, the EPA in April gave a clean bill of health to the nation’s drinking water standards, notwithstanding the fact that there are thousands of unregulated toxic chemicals, parasites, and bacteria in tap water. One of the most dangerous chemicals the EPA has failed to regulate is perchlorate, or perc. More than 10 million Americans drink tap water with perc levels higher than the EPA considers safe. Southern California recently mandated a phase-out of perc in the dry cleaning industry, but the military–which uses perc as the main ingredient of solid rocket fuel–remains virtually unregulated.

> SCIENCE FOR SALE Apparently unhappy with the findings of the scientific advisory committees that guide federal policy, the administration began stacking these panels by replacing respected scientists with ones hand-picked by industry.  In September, it was revealed that the HHS is eliminating some committees whose recommendations conflicted with administration positions, and shaking up membership in others. The agency, for example, is in the midst of replacing nearly all the 18 members of a committee assessing the effects of chemicals on human health– the new members have financial ties to the chemical industry. 

> The administration also has targeted the Centers for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention. In October, the administration rejected renowned scientists who work on lead poisoning to fill slots on this federal advisory committee and instead appointed scientists with close ties to the lead industry. Among other things, the committee is responsible for assessing the state of the science and telling the government what levels of lead are toxic.

REWRITING THE RULES, YEAR-END REPORT 2002
The Bush Administration’s Assault on the Environment
Authors: Robert Perks, Gregory Wetstone

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