EWG: ‘The scariest Trump appointee you’ve never heard of’

WASHINGTON – President Trump is considering nominating a former top chemical industry executive, who at the Environmental Protection Agency has led the rollback of important chemical safety regulations, to lead the Consumer Product Safety Commission, according to a report in The Washington Post.

EWG once dubbed Nancy Beck "the scariest Trump appointee you've never heard of." Beck is currently detailed to the White House National Economic Council from her senior position in EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.

Before joining the administration, Beck was an executive with the American Chemistry Council, the powerful lobby group for the chemical industry. The National Academy of Sciences once called her proposed approach to chemical safety “fundamentally flawed.”

As senior director for regulatory science for the chemical lobby, Beck consistently fought for weaker chemical safety laws. Since her appointment, she has significantly weakened proposed rules to assess chemical safety in favor of the chemical industry, and has fundamentally changed the way the EPA approves new chemicals before they come on the market to favor the interests of the industry she once worked for.

“Nancy Beck is just about the last person who should be in charge of safeguarding the American people from toxic and dangerous consumer products,” said EWG President Ken Cook. “Her track record, both in and out of government, is riddled with disregard for the risks that toxic chemicals in consumer goods pose to human health. Once again, we see the president looking to appoint someone who will work to subvert the mission of the agency she would head.”

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The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action.