Trump Admin Moves To Shield Blue Collar Workers From Toxic Fumes And Cancer Risk

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is set to establish rules to protect industrial workers from a manufacturing gas the agency found may increase cancer risk in certain workplace settings.

1,3-Butadiene is a colorless gas used in several products, ranging from car tires, adhesives, paints, vehicle maintenance products and even solid rocket fuels, according to the EPA. Following a “robust review” on a court ordered deadline, the EPA found that 1,3-butadiene posed “potential unreasonable risk” to workers inhaling the gas in 11 different industrial settings.

Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the agency will now develop rules to shield workers from the potential health risks, which according to the EPA might include reduced birthweight pregnancies, anemia, leukemia and bladder cancer. However, the EPA also found that risks are limited to specific industrial settings, as the substance does not pose “unreasonable risks” to the environment, consumers, the general public or those living near facilities that use 1,3-butadiene.

“EPA also took into account additional feedback from peer reviewers recommending that we add together the risks from bladder cancer and leukemia. This resulted in a higher overall cancer risk estimate used in the risk evaluation,” the EPA announced Wednesday. “EPA will now develop rules to protect workers from the risks we identified. This process will include meticulous consideration of health effects, exposure levels, economic impacts, and benefits of use, with extensive stakeholder engagement to ensure the resulting rules are both protective and practical.”