Citizen Health & Safety

White House Meddling in EPA Rule on Air Pollution Monitors

Jan 28, 2010 by Matthew Madia

Update (02/17/10): "Last-Minute Changes Will Improve Air Pollution Monitoring, EPA Says."

It’s looking more and more like the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) overruled the EPA in a decision to place more air pollution monitors near major roadways.

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EPA Seeking Citizen Watchdogs

Jan 27, 2010 by Brian Turnbaugh*

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a new telephone hotline for citizens to report suspicious or unusual activities involving natural gas drilling. The "Eyes on Drilling Tipline" allows anyone to report activities such as dumping and other "illegal or suspicious hauling and/or disposal activities." Vigilant citizens can call the new toll-free number, 1-877-919-4EPA, or email eyesondrilling@epa.gov.

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Obama Nominates Key Food Safety Official

Jan 27, 2010 by Matthew Madia

President Obama finally announced on Monday his nominee for undersecretary of food safety at the USDA, a.k.a. the head of the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS). The nominee, Elisabeth Hagen, is currently the Chief Medical Officer at the USDA, and before that she was a senior executive at FSIS.

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Lead Standards for Children's Products Challenge CPSC

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is struggling to interpret and enforce standards intended to limit children's exposure to lead, the agency's commissioners reported to Congress Jan. 15.

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FDA Shifts Position on BPA but Says Its Hands are Tied

In its long-awaited decision on the dangers of bisphenol-A (BPA) exposure, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it believes there is some concern about the effects of BPA on children. This is a shift from the agency's recent position that BPA is safe. The agency says its ability to regulate the chemical, however, is limited by FDA's outdated regulatory authority.

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Bite Taken Out of Chemical Secrecy

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Jan. 21 a new practice that will prevent chemical manufacturers from hiding the identities of chemicals that have been found to pose a significant risk to environmental or public health. The policy is a small step to increase the transparency of the nation's chemical laws, and it highlights both the problem of excessive secrecy and the power of the executive branch to make government more open – even without action by Congress or the courts.


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EPA Sets New Standard for Nitrogen Dioxide Pollution

Jan 26, 2010 by Matthew Madia

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday revised the national air quality standard for nitrogen dioxide for the first time in 35 years. In addition to the annually-measured standard (which EPA actually kept the same) the agency will, for the first time ever, enforce a one-hour standard intended to limit short-term exposure to NO2. The new one-hour standard is set at 100 ppb (parts per billion).

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Greenhouse Gases are Peachy Keen, 40 Senators Say

Jan 22, 2010 by Matthew Madia

Yesterday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and a whopping 39 co-sponsors introduced a resolution that would disapprove the Environmental Protection Agency’s endangerment finding for greenhouse gas emissions.

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FDA to Keep More Watchful Eye on Foreign Food Producers

Jan 21, 2010 by Matthew Madia

FDA food safety officials want to increase the agency’s overseas inspection presence 20-fold, Congress Daily (subscription) reports today: “The Obama administration intends to increase the number of inspections of foreign food plants from 100 per year to 2,000 per year, a key FDA official said Wednesday.”

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The Obama Administration and Public Protections: A First-Year Regulatory Assessment

OMB Watch invites you to this webcast event.

Date and time: Thursday, Feb. 4 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time

Location: 2040 S St., NW, Washington, DC 20009 and live on the web!

Panelists: Michael Fitzpatrick, White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (invited); Pam Gilbert, Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca; Peg Seminario, AFL-CIO; Wesley Warren, Natural Resources Defense Council. Moderated by Gary Bass, OMB Watch.

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