Policy Watch: Democrats move to ban toxic chemicals in food packaging

House bill targets phthalates and other chemicals in food packaging

A bill introduced in the US House of Representatives (PDF) by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) on June 9 would ban per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); ortho-phthalates; bisphenols, including bisphenol A (BPA); and certain other chemicals from food packaging.

“This crucial legislation would finally ban some of the most hazardous chemicals used in food packaging and food processing materials,” Schakowsky says in a press release. “We must act now to protect public health, strengthen consumer safety, and ensure that the American people, not corporate interests, come first.”

The bill would “reduce unnecessary exposure” to what cosponsor Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) says are “toxic chemicals linked to breast cancer and hormone disruptions.”

Eight Democratic representatives and five Democratic senators cosponsored the legislation, which has drawn support from the nonprofit Breast Cancer Prevention Partners and environmental groups including Environmental Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council, the press release notes.

A similar bill was introduced in 2023 but did not get out of committee.

“We know from the latest independent scientific evidence that known hazardous chemicals such as BPA, PFAS, and phthalates can be widely found in food packaging on the market,” Justin Boucher, operations director at the Food Packaging Forum, said in an email to C&EN. “Many of these substances have been shown to migrate from the packaging into food and expose consumers. Restricting them could better protect the health of American consumers. The European Union has already started to recognize this need and planned restrictions on BPA and PFAS in food packaging.”

The bill comes a week after the US Food and Drug Administration announced its assessment of eight ortho-phthalates currently used for food contact materials that determined whether the chemicals should be grouped together for a risk assessment. The agency found that di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP), diisooctyl phthalate (DIOP), and diisononyl phthalate (DINP) are chemically or pharmacologically related and supports their grouping for risk assessments.

The FDA is soliciting public comments through June 26.

The Foodservice Packaging Institute did not respond to C&EN’s request for comments about the new bill and the FDA’s decision.

—Bec Roldan, special to C&EN

Federal judge rejects Trump’s $100,000 fee for visa often used by scientists

A federal judge has blocked the $100,000 fee for obtaining an H-1B visa that President Donald J. Trump instituted in September.

Researchers and graduate students who come to the US from abroad seeking to work or to remain in the US often rely on H-1B visas, which are intended to fill high-skilled jobs. The visas are crucial for the US scientific workforce, says Jennifer Jones, director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

“If the United States wants to remain a global leader in science and innovation, it must create an environment that attracts top talent from around the world,” Jones says.

In December, 20 states sued the Trump administration (PDF) in a federal court in Massachusetts, seeking to block the fee. Before the fee was instituted, costs for applying for an H-1B ranged from $960 to $7,595, according to the suit.

On June 8, US district judge Leo Sorokin ruled that the fee amounted to a tax (PDF), putting it outside of the president’s purview: only Congress can impose taxes. The administration also violated the Administrative Procedure Act by not providing public notice and not allowing a comment period, Sorokin ruled.

Sorokin’s decision contradicts a December ruling by US district judge Beryl Howell that rejected a suit from the US Chamber of Commerce and the Association of American Universities opposing the fee. Howell argued that the president has the authority to regulate entry into the US. An ongoing appeal of that decision, as well as a likely appeal of Sorokin’s, means the matter is far from settled, says Gil Guerra, senior immigration and security policy analyst at the Niskanen Center, a think tank.

“A postdoc weighing an offer or a lab planning a hire is still operating under legal uncertainty, and that uncertainty will probably continue to have a deterring effect,” Guerra says. “If the goal is prioritizing truly exceptional scientific talent while protecting American workers, the durable way to do that runs through Congress.”

As of February, 85 applicants had paid the $100,000 fee, according to a March court filing from the administration. That low tally demonstrates that the main purpose of the fee thus far has been to block recruitment of foreign workers, Guerra says.

In 2024, more than 440,000 H-1B visa applications were approved, 35% of which were new applications, according to the Pew Research Center. Fewer than 5% of applications were denied that year.

—Laura Dattaro, special to C&EN

House appropriators approve small bump in NIH funding to $48.8 billion

The US House Appropriations Committee on June 9 passed its fiscal year (FY) 2027 appropriations bill that covers the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), along with the Departments of Labor and Education.

The bill, approved 34–28 along party lines, funds HHS at $110.8 billion, about 5% below FY 2026 enacted levels. Of that, $48.8 billion would be directed to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a 3.4% boost from funding levels enacted for FY 2026.

These amounts are mostly unchanged from those in the version of the bill released by the House subcommittee earlier this month. The bill also largely rejects the cuts proposed by the Donald J. Trump administration in April, which called to decrease the NIH budget by 10.5%.

Despite the rejection of Trump’s cuts, the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) says in a statement that the bill “fails to provide the resources needed to sustain U.S. leadership in biomedical research.” The organization urges Congress to provide the NIH with no less than $51.3 billion for FY 2027.

“Every dollar invested in NIH research represents a chance to save lives, advance science, and support American jobs. When funding falls short, it means delayed cures, lost opportunities, and a generation of young scientists forced to reconsider their future in research,” the AAI says.

In addition, on June 3, the House Appropriations Committee approved its version of the FY 2027 Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill, which sets the budget for the US Environmental Protection Agency. The bill would provide the agency with $7 billion, a 20% decrease from FY 2026 funding. For comparison, the White House proposed a 52% cut.

Of the $7 billion allotted, $528 million would be used to fund the EPA’s science and technology research activities, a 29% drop from current funding levels.

Both bills will now need to be voted on by all members of the House of Representatives. After those votes, they will need to be consolidated with the Senate’s versions of the two bills. The Senate has yet to release any FY 2027 appropriations bills.

—Krystal Vasquez

EPA launches Superfund initiative to speed contaminated-site cleanups

The US Environmental Protection Agency last week launched the Superfund Solutions Initiative aimed at accelerating cleanup at contaminated hazardous waste sites.

The initiative directs staff to move more quickly through site investigations, sampling, feasibility studies, and remedy selection at contaminated sites nationwide, including the more than 1,340 sites on the Superfund National Priorities List.

Superfund—a program created under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)—governs cleanup of uncontrolled releases of hazardous substances and allows the EPA to collect cleanup costs from responsible parties.

The EPA says the initiative will increase coordination with states and standardize cleanup approaches using “smarter science,” an emphasis that aligns with longstanding concerns about the time and complexity involved in completing contaminated-site cleanups. Because contaminated sites can sometimes fall under multiple cleanup authorities beyond CERCLA, including the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Brownfields and Land Revitalization redevelopment program, the EPA says the initiative will push staff to evaluate options under all three programs simultaneously to identify the most appropriate cleanup pathway more quickly. The EPA has long coordinated work across these statutes, though, according to retired EPA policy analyst Larry Zaragoza.

The actual remedies necessary to clean up these sites cannot necessarily be accelerated, Loren Dunn, principal and cochair of law firm Beveridge & Diamond’s contaminated sites and CERCLA practice, tells C&EN. But reducing lengthy site-investigation and remedy-selection procedures could improve efficiency of a “process that has become very slow and challenging to work through . . . frequently taking upward of 20 years from site listing to the commencement of actual cleanup work,” he says. Dunn cautions, however, that a faster process carries some risk: decisions made hurriedly or with less robust investigations could later require reevaluation or become vulnerable to shifts in policy.

Zaragoza provides a similar warning. “Speeding up the process at the expense of community engagement or adequate site characterization will lead to remedies that are not protective,” he tells C&EN. He says the EPA’s “smarter science” approaches to date “are providing less protection for public health and the environment,” and it’s the loss of experienced EPA staff and funding in recent years that has made it more difficult to clean up sites.

—Joe Beeton, special to C&EN

Trifluoracetic acid classified in Europe as a toxicant

The risk assessment committee of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the body responsible for administering the European Union’s chemical policies, has concluded in a formal review released June 5 that trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) should be classified as persistent, mobile, and toxic (PMT); very persistent and very mobile (vPvM); and toxic to reproduction.

TFA is the first substance to be classified as PMT or vPvM. TFA’s classification as reprotoxic is largely based on data from animal studies. One environmental source of TFA is understood to be the atmospheric degradation of fluorocarbon refrigerants.

The EU’s secretariat, the European Commission, has yet to decide what action should be taken to protect people and the environment from TFA. But the International Chemical Secretariat (ChemSec), a Swedish environmental organization, has called on European regulators to introduce controls.

“The new conclusion on the hazards of TFA marks a significant shift in understanding,” Jonatan Kleimark, ChemSec’s director of programs, says in an email. “Previously considered non-harmful to humans, this re-evaluation highlights the need for stringent measures to prevent further environmental and health impacts.”

—Alex Scott