The Future of CEH Work: Full-Court Press
CEH continues to focus on reducing exposure to toxic chemicals in our air, water, soil, food, and the products we use every day. We are fighting to protect public health and support decision-makers by leading science-backed approaches that center prevention and remedy environmental injustice. We will double down on our commitment to catalyze solutions, drive public awareness, develop standards, craft policies, and litigate toward systemic change in our world.
Importantly, we will enhance our efforts to prevent the rollback of important public health and environmental protections, enlist local and national partners in our work to push for a future of healthier products, and will implement a strategic, integrated approach to eliminate PFAS “forever chemicals” pollution—considered by many to be the country’s worst environmental disaster yet.
Throughout CEH’s history, we have invested across our programs to tackle the PFAS lifecycle, from production and use to disposal. Today, our integrated PFAS strategies include partnering with large institutions and governments to influence national market trends towards the purchase of safer materials; exercising legal interventions such as litigation; launching evidence-based education campaigns, and advocating for health protective policies at the local, state and federal levels.
At the federal level, CEH is wielding the power of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to reinvigorate our legal strategies. In 2016 CEH was part of a broad coalition of environmental health and justice organizations responsible for strengthening TSCA as a legal tool to protect public health. Among other things, the law requires most companies to report to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) what toxic chemicals they import into the U.S. When corporations withhold this data, EPA cannot provide local regulators with the information they need to protect their communities.
Moving forward, our enhanced focus on the enforcement of TSCA will help to fill in missing data gaps to empower local governments, community-based organizations, and first responders to act to keep people safe and to more fully participate in the decision-making processes that impact their lives.
CEH is also advocating for the Biden Administration to make good on its commitments in its PFAS Strategic Roadmap. This includes federal agencies’ compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Environmental Justice Executive Orders. Through our participation in the Title VI Alliance, we have made recommendations to EPA and other federal agencies on how they can better protect communities from environmental racism.
One key victory came on April 10, 2024, when EPA issued drinking water standards for certain PFAS chemicals, which will save thousands of lives and prevent tens of thousands of serious illnesses. The new drinking water standards, which cover six of the most studied PFAS chemicals, fulfill President Biden’s Environmental Justice promise to PFAS-contaminated communities, such as southeastern North Carolina and South Los Angeles.
As a result of our efforts to stop PFAS pollution, we have increased public awareness, driven regulatory action, and ensured that impacted communities are represented and receive well-deserved remediation. CEH will continue to push governments to enact strong policies on PFAS to safeguard our health and that of future generations.
While we continue to build on our tremendous legacy work, we are laser-focused on exponentially expanding our impact and demanding a national, full-court press to fight the ubiquitous problem of forever chemicals in our everyday lives!