Statement Applauding Withdrawal of Dourson Nomination for EPA

Washington, DC – In response to the U.S. Senate’s Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee decision to withdraw the nomination of Michael Dourson to lead the toxics program at the EPA, the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) released the following statement, which may be attributed to David Levine, president, CEO and co-founder:

“We applaud this decision by the committee. At a time when many businesses are successfully producing non-toxic products and consumers want stricter protections against harmful products and pesticides, Dourson has consistently argued for weaker standards and helped companies avoid liability for damages resulting from chemical pollution. Weaker standards for harmful chemicals enable bad actors to increase risk of exposure for employees and consumers and increase costs for local, state and federal government. The absence of meaningful safety standards also undermines consumer confidence across the spectrum of chemical product industries. That hurts the market growth for all chemical products, including safe ones.

“We call on the committee to consider nominees for EPA who will work in partnership with companies who are leaders in process and product safety and innovation. Together, we can set minimum standards and rules that guide the industry toward the safer chemicals consumers want and the innovation and economic growth our country deserves.”

ASBC published an open letter to the EPW committee, urging it to reject the nomination of Doursey. Previously, ASBC sponsored a business coalition, Companies for Safer Chemicals, which helped achieve responsible reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in 2016.