Toxic (Re)Tort | Mass & Toxic Tort Tracker
Science & News
The Science & News section provides insights into recent research and news within the toxic tort spade to assist with identifying "hot button" issues in the toxic tort space.
The most recent insights are listed first in the table below. Use the "Search Insights" section to find specific text within the tracker or the "Filter by Contaminant" to show insights associated only with a selected option.
| Date | Case | Contaminant |
|---|---|---|
|
July 1, 2026 |
EPA Leaves Microplastics Out of New Drinking-Water Testing RequirementsAfter previously announcing it would be including microplastics in the latest Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, the EPA ultimately issued the list of substances to be tested without them. The EPA promulgates the list under the Safe Drinking Water Act every five years and included a number of chemicals, such as certain PFAS, in the latest list. |
Microplastics |
|
April 13, 2026 |
EPA Proposes to Relax Rules Regulating Disposal of Coal WasteThe EPA has proposed revisions to federal regulations governing the disposal of coal combustion residuals. The proposed revisions would ease standards for monitoring and protecting groundwater near some coal ash sites and would reverse Biden-era rules that require the cleanup of entire coal properties rather than just the sites where ash was dumped. |
Coal |
|
March 26, 2026 |
Lab Gloves May Be Causing False Positives in Microplastics StudiesAvoiding and Reducing Microplastic False Positives from Dry Glove Contact Researchers at the University of Michigan have published a study suggesting that plastic gloves worn by researchers may be causing false positives for microplastics. The gloves release small particles called stearates, which can be mistaken for microplastics. The authors of the study implore other microplastics researchers to take potential lab glove contamination into account in future research. |
Microplastics Stearates |
|
March 17, 2026 |
EPA Proposes Reconsideration of Standard for Ethylene Oxide SterilizersThe EPA has proposed to repeal the 2024 final rule for the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for commercial ethylene oxide sterilization facilities. If finalized as a rule, this action would rescind the 2024 NESHAP requirements, including the requirement to use continuous emission monitoring systems, technology review standards for new aeration room vents, and requirements for permanent total enclosure. |
Pollutants (General) |
|
February 19, 2026 |
Alabama Legislature Latest to Seek to Limit Environmental RegulationsFollowing Trump’s Lead, Some GOP States Seek to Limit Environmental Regulations Alabama enacted a measure that would prohibit state agencies from setting limits on releases of pollutants and hazardous substances unless a “direct causal link” has been shown between those releases and “manifest bodily harm” to human beings. Alabama’s action comes in the wake last year of Tennessee’s passage of a similar law and an executive order by Indiana Governor Mike Braun restricting that state’s ability to restrict the release of hazardous substances. A similar bill has also been proposed in Utah. |
Pollutants (General) |
|
February 18, 2026 |
EPA Grants Further Extension to Comply with TCE RuleThe EPA announced a further 90-day extension, to May 18, 2026, of the conditions governing the exempted uses of trichlorethylene (TCE), a chemical solvent most commonly used as a degreaser. In announcing its decision, the EPA cited the need for fairness given the ongoing litigation over the Biden-era rule that prohibits most uses of TCE. That rule provides for a number of exempted uses of TCE, such as in certain laboratory conditions when certain worker protections are met. The extension applies to the rules governing those exempted uses. |
TCE |
|
February 11, 2026 |
Proposed California Bill Would Require Heavy-Metals Testing for Protein ProductsThe California Senate introduced Senate Bill 1033, which would require manufacturers of protein products to test their products for heavy metals, defined as arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. The first-in-the-nation measure would require the makers of protein products to disclose the results of their testing and would prohibit the sale of noncompliant products. The bill passed the Senate Health and Environmental Quality Committees in spring 2026 but is still held in committee. |
Arsenic Cadmium Lead Mercury |
|
January 6, 2026 |
EPA Issues Final TSCA Risk Evaluation for Five PhthalatesThe EPA announced final risk evaluations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP), diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), and diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP). Specifically, the EPA found that these five phthalates—chemicals often used to make plastics more flexible and durable—pose an “unreasonable risk to human health and/or the environment driven by specific conditions of use.” Under TSCA, the EPA must now begin risk management actions for these chemicals. The EPA clarified that its findings relate to worker exposure and not to exposure from consumer products. |
Phthalates |
|
November 28, 2025 |
FDA Withdraws Proposed Asbestos Testing Rule for Cosmetics ProductsThe FDA announced the withdrawal of a proposed rule that would have required manufacturers of cosmetics products to test their talc products for asbestos. The agency cited comments it had received that the proposed rule was overbroad and would have required testing of many non-cosmetics, including some drugs. Some comments had also claimed the proposed testing method was likely to yield false positives. |
Asbestos |
|
November 21, 2025 |
IARC Classifies Atrazine As Probably Carcinogenic to HumansIARC Monographs Evaluate the Carcnogenicity of Atrazine, Alachlor, and Vinclozolin Volume 140 of the IARC Monographs, expected to be published in late 2026 or early 2027, will classify the chemical atrazine as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” This classification follows the meeting of an IARC working group in November 2025. Atrazine is one of the most widely used weed-control agents in the world. The announcement from IARC expresses concern about atrazine in drinking water near areas where the chemical is used agriculturally. |
Atrazine |
|
November 2025 |
Plants Absorb Cadmium from Fertilizer Rather Than Soil, Study FindsA Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research and Duke University study found that the heavy metal cadmium entered wheat plants from mineral fertilizer. Researchers have known that plants absorb cadmium, but the question remained whether the cadmium came from the soil itself or from fertilizer. The researchers next hope to study the effects different environmental conditions have on absorption. |
Cadmium |
|
September 23, 2025 |
Nanoplastics Found in Root VegetablesResearchers at the University of Plymouth have discovered microplastics in vegetables. Using radishes, the researchers found that 10% of the plastics had been absorbed into the shoot of the plants after five days in a test solution. |
Microplastics |
|
September 15, 2025 |
Phthalates in Personal Care Products and Food Packaging May Trigger More Aggressive Form of Breast CancerEndocrine Disruption to Metastasis: How Phthalates Promote Breast Carcinogenesis A study has linked exposure to phthalates—commonly found in personal care products and food packaging—to damage to the body’s hormone systems. The study suggests that phthalates can act like estrogen in the body, potentially triggering uncontrolled cell growth. The researchers call for more long-term studies at lower doses of exposure to simulate more realistic exposure levels. |
Phthalates |
|
August 2025 |
Prenatal Phthalate Exposure Lowers Boys’ Verbal IQ, Study Authors ClaimA published study of Canadian mothers and their children purports to have found a link between prenatal exposure to phthalate compounds, such as di-isodecyl phthalate (DiDP), and a negative and measurable impact on boys’ full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ). Although the authors note the dip in FSIQ was modest, they caution that even a small dip “can push thousands of children above or below educational thresholds, underscoring public health relevance.” The researchers call for further studies in “modern, diverse populations.” |
Phthalates |
|
August 20, 2025 |
EPA Postpones TSCA Rule on TCE AgainThe EPA is extending enforcement of its TSCA rule on TCE, most recently extended in June. The postponement only affects portions of the rule currently the subject of a legal challenge in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The EPA notes that the “extension of the postponement applies, for example, to the conditions imposed … for the use of TCE as a processing aid for specialty polymeric microporous sheet material manufacturing.” The postponement extended to November 17, 2025. |
TCE |
|
August 6, 2025 |
EPA Seeks Comment on TSCA Regulation of BBP and DIBPThe EPA sought comment on its draft risk evaluation of the phthalates BBP and DIBP under the TSCA. The EPA has said the point of the rule is to determine whether the chemicals pose an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment under the conditions of use. The comment period closed October 6, 2025. |
Phthalates |
|
August 1, 2025 |
Study Links Chlorpyrifos to Disrupted Sleep, Damage to Brain Function and Immune HealthA published study has linked perinatal exposure to the insecticide Chlorpyrifos in mice to disrupted sleep patterns, brain inflammation—especially in female mice—and damage to genes that control immune responses. Chlorpyrifos was largely restricted to nonresidential use in 2000 but continues to be used in agriculture, at golf courses, and to control mosquitos. The EPA issued a proposed rule in December 2024 to further restrict the insecticide’s uses to certain crops. The authors of the study say it adds “to the literature on pregnancy and breastfeeding as a potentially vulnerable period to pesticide exposure.” |
Chlorpyrifos Pesticides |
|
July 30, 2025 |
Study Suggests People Breathe in 68,000 Potentially Lung-Penetrating Microplastics DailyHuman Exposure to PM10 Microplastics in Indoor Air A study by Nadiia Yakovenko and colleagues at the Université de Toulouse used Raman spectroscopy to measure the size of microplastics suspended in the air in average homes and vehicles. They suggest in their findings that potentially 90% of such microplastics are small enough to penetrate human lungs, 100 times that previously estimated. |
Microplastics |
|
July 30, 2025 |
EPA Seeks Comment on TSCA Regulation of PCEThe EPA sought comment to inform its reconsideration of its December 2024 rule regulating PCE, a common solvent, under the TSCA. The rule required various workplace controls of PCE and imposed certain industrial, commercial, and consumer restrictions on its use. The EPA decided to reconsider the rule through rulemaking after several legal challenges to the new rule were launched this year. The comment period closed August 29, 2025. |
PCE |
|
July 15, 2025 |
Study Purports to Link Microplastics to Changes in Lung Cells Associated with CancerResearchers at MedUni Vienna studied the interaction of lung cells with microplastics, claiming that after exposure, lung cells showed increased cell migration, DNA damage, oxidative stress, and the activation of signaling pathways that promote cell growth and survival. The study notes that further research is needed to fully understand any potential connection between microplastics and cancer. |
Microplastics |
|
July 9, 2025 |
Study Shows Lead Exposure Leads to Faster Forgetting Among ChildrenA study published in Science Advances found that developmental exposure to lead is associated with an increased rate of forgetting among children. The study measured blood lead levels during pregnancy and at ages four and six and used a delayed matching-to-sample task to measure rate of forgetting. The authors of the study claim that it shows that even low levels of lead can impair children’s cognitive function. |
Lead |
|
July 9, 2025 |
Researchers Believe There Are 27 Million Tons of Nanoplastics in North AtlanticNanoplastic Concentrations Across the North Atlantic Researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Utrecht University, and the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research performed analysis they believe allows them to quantify the amount of nanoplastics—microplastics less than a micrometer in size—in the North Atlantic Ocean. The researchers found that nanoplastics were distributed at all 12 sampling locations and all measured depths, even near the seabed. Their study led the researchers to conclude that nanoplastics account for more of the plastic in the ocean than either macroplastics or microplastics. |
Microplastics |
|
July 8, 2025 |
EPA Extends Compliance Date for Coke Manufacturing Facilities to Comply with New NESHAP StandardsIn response to petitions from industry submitted in September 2024, the EPA has extended the time for coke manufacturing facilities to comply with new requirements in the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP). These facilities now have until July 2027 to comply with new requirements for fence line monitoring, maximum achievable control technology, and regulations on emissions monitoring near oven doors. |
Coke |
|
June 30, 2025 |
FDA Expects to Issue Guidance on Action Levels for Cadmium and Inorganic Arsenic in Baby FoodFoods Program Guidance Under Development The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published its Human Foods Program (HFP) guidance agenda for 2025. The agenda identifies cadmium and inorganic arsenic in food intended for babies or young children as areas for potential forthcoming guidance action levels. Although not bound by this agenda, the FDA does expect to issue draft or final guidance on these topics by December 2025. |
Arsenic Cadmium |
| June 20, 2025 |
California Proposes Adding Microplastics to Its Candidate Chemicals ListDTSC Proposes Adding Microplastics to its Candidate Chemicals List California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has proposed adding microplastics as a candidate chemical to be regulated under the state’s Safer Consumer Products program. If the DTSC adopts microplastics as a candidate chemical, it could then identify certain products containing microplastics as priority products, requiring their manufacturers to perform certain analyses and comply with other regulations governing them. The public comment period on the DTSC’s proposal closed August 4, 2025. |
Microplastics |