Dingell Statement on EPA's Decision to Test 1,4-Dioxane for Health, Environmental Risks

Statement

U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) released the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that 1,4-dioxane will be among the first ten chemicals evaluated under new reforms to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

"EPA's decision to conduct a risk evaluation of 1,4-dioxane for potential hazards to human health and the environment is critical for the 12th district of Michigan. The growing dioxane plume that has been spreading through Ann Arbor's groundwater for decades poses a potential threat to our families and the community, and this announcement from EPA will help give us new tools to deal with this decades-old problem.

"TSCA reform was one of the few bipartisan accomplishments of the Congress this year. Under the new reforms, 1,4-dioxane and thousands of other potentially hazardous chemicals will be reviewed for impacts on health and the environment on a priority basis. It is very significant that 1,4-dioxane is among the first ten chemicals that EPA chose to evaluate and speaks to the importance of this work. The EPA must complete a risk evaluation of dioxane and the other nine chemicals within three years to determine whether they present a risk to humans and the environment. If it is determined that a chemical presents an unreasonable risk, EPA must mitigate that risk within two years.

"We will continue to monitor this effort by EPA to ensure families in Michigan and across the country are protected from this toxic chemical. In the short-term, a petition to declare the Gelman dioxane plume a federal superfund site has been submitted to the EPA and we will continue to work with local officials to move that request forward. We will work with all stakeholders to ensure this contamination is properly remediated and the health of our families is protected."

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