EPA Initiates Formal Evaluation of Vinyl Chloride Risks

The review, expected to take three years, follows a train derailment in Ohio where the cancer-causing chemical was released.

The Biden administration has initiated a formal evaluation of risks posed by vinyl chloride, the cancer-causing chemical that burned in a train derailment in eastern Ohio earlier this year.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will review risks posed by a handful of chemicals, including vinyl chloride, which is used to make a variety of plastic products.
The review process to determine whether vinyl chloride poses an 'unreasonable risk to human health or the environment' is expected to take at least three years.
Vinyl chloride is one of five chemicals the agency is reviewing, including four that are used to make plastics.
Environmental and public health activists have welcomed the announcement, calling the review long overdue.