"A debate over which federal office should be the primary regulator of hazardous chemical safety in the workplace is playing out in courts and Congress.
Questions over regulations of hazardous chemicals in the workplace by the Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Administration stem from 2016 changes to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) directing the EPA to examine commercial chemicals’ potential to harm workers’ health. Under those changes, if the EPA finds a chemical is too risky, it must be regulated.
“It’s not uncommon to have overlap between agencies,” said Gina Fonte, a partner at Holland & Knight LLP whose practice includes workplace safety regulations. But, more clarity and direction is needed to make sure the agencies work together, because otherwise there’s confusion and conflict, she said.
Briefs in two lawsuits challenging the EPA’s risk management rules and draft legislation to revise the nation’s commercial chemicals law offer different approaches to adding that clarity in the agencies’ dual responsibility."
Pat Rizzuto reports for Bloomberg Environment April 3, 2026,
