EPA Bans Two Widely Used and Highly Toxic Chemicals Before Trump Takes Office

When he was president the first time, Trump blocked the ban of various poisonous chemicals.

The hope is that with RFK involved this time around, he’s going to ban various poisonous chemicals.

The Guardian:

The US Environmental Protection Agency has banned perc and TCE, toxic chemicals that are widely used in everyday products but strongly linked to cancer and other serious health problems.

The move comes after the first Donald Trump administration killed the process to limit the chemicals’ uses, but the bans make it difficult for the second Trump administration to undo the rules.

The chemicals are commonly used in dry cleaning, carpet cleaning, hoof polishes, brake cleaners, adhesives, pepper spray and lubricants.

TCE, or trichloroethylene, is linked to male reproductive damage, liver disease, kidney disease, neurological damage and Parkinson’s disease. It has particularly been a problem for those living near air force bases or civilian airports because it is widely employed as an industrial degreaser.

The chemical can percolate into groundwater used as drinking water sources, and officials suspect TCE water contamination is behind multiple cancer clusters, and sickening and killing service members at bases across the US. Many areas with TCE contamination are designated Superfund sites, which is reserved for the nation’s most polluted locations. The EPA found TCE presents an “unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment” in 52 of 54 uses in industrial and consumer products.

Perc, or perchloroethylene, is linked to similar health problems, including kidney disease, liver damage, memory loss and decreased immune function. It’s also thought to cause liver, kidney, brain and testicular cancers.

Perc is also used as a degreasing, lubricant and adhesive agent in manufacturing, and has also been widely found in drinking water. It can also emit a gas through soil that poisons the air inside buildings above it.

Why are any of these chemicals allowed in drinking water?

Are not these corporations engaged in a violation of the non-aggression principle?

Did anyone ever ask a libertarian about that?