EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy Statement to Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on the President’s Climate Action Plan. In June of last year, the President reaffirmed his commitment to reducing carbon pollution when he directed many federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, to take meaningful steps to mitigate the current and future damage caused by carbon dioxide emissions and to prepare for the anticipated climate changes that have already been set in motion.

As Americans across the country look for ways to improve their health this New Year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is highlighting radon testing and mitigation as a simple and affordable step to significantly reduce the risk for lung cancer.

Blood mercury levels in women of childbearing age have dropped 34 percent in the past 14 years, according to a survey by the EPA. Additionally, the percentage of women of childbearing age with blood mercury levels above the level of concern decreased 65 percent from the 1999-2000 survey and follow-up surveys from 2001-2010.

A Senate effort to reform the decades-old Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is scheduled for a hearing next week in the House. The controversial legislation, which was introduced in May by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) and the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), will likely get a hearing by the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee.

More than 35 countries will take place in activities associated with Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action – an effort spearheaded by the EPA, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint in a Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action.

With the Chemical Safety Board’s (CSB) website not being updated during the federal government shutdown, CSB Chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso used a recent news conference in Washington, D.C. to warn of the shutdown’s affect on his agency.

The Obama administration’s withdrawal last week of two pending EPA proposals that would have helped inform the public about potentially dangerous chemicals showed showed that it was catering to the interests of the chemical industry, according to the National Resources Defence Council (NRDC). The group said the move undermines public health efforts.

CSB Chairperson Rafael Moure-Eraso testified yesterday before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works: Chairman Boxer, Senator Vitter, and distinguished Committee members – thank you for inviting me today. The two explosions we are discussing today – West Fertilizer and Williams Olefins – are tragedies of the kind that should be prevented.