
From our inception in 2010, Women for a Healthy Environment rallied around and advocated for the passage of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act – and in 2016, the act finally passed! WHE was pivotal in the passage of the Act as we organized several supportive efforts over this six year time, including writing public comments, press releases, and op eds; hosting candidate forums on toxic policies with congressional candidates during the 2010 election, collaborating with safer states and safer chemicals, and supporting and participating in phone call and email campaigns to legislators.
The act has since proved key in spreading public awareness about the environmental health impact of certain chemicals, as it formally amended the primary law that provides guidelines for chemical safety, the Toxic Substances Control Act; the amendment helps allocate funding so the EPA is empowered to provide clear and enforceable deadlines for evaluating chemicals, risk-based chemical assessments, and transparency to the public about harmful chemicals.