Liz Hitchcock

Acting Director

19 entries posted
Liz Hitchcock
Liz Hitchcock is Acting Director of Safer Chemicals Healthy Families. She oversees staff, coordinates our work with partner organizations, and manages the campaign’s advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill and at EPA and other federal agencies. She joined the campaign after four years as the public health advocate for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. In that capacity, she led U.S. PIRG’s campaigns on environmental health issues including product safety, chemical policy reform, chemical facility security and food safety. She coordinated PIRG’s successful campaign to win landmark federal standards for toxic lead and phthalates in children’s products in the 2008 reform of Consumer Product Safety Commission, and was PIRG's lead lobbyist on the food safety campaign that resulted in the 2010 passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act. Prior to becoming public health advocate, she served as U.S. PIRG's Communications Director for eleven years, working with the state PIRGs' advocacy and field staffs to educate the national and local media on such issues as product safety, clean water, toxic chemical accidents, safe energy alternatives and air pollution. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and a native of Schenectady, NY.

Posts by Liz Hitchcock

Let’s say it again: Dangerous paint strippers don’t belong on store shelves

Methylene chloride has killed more than 50 people across the country but so far E.P.A. and home improvement retailers have failed to act.

in Mind the Store, Policy & Regulation

E.P.A.’s “interesting” holiday gift: delaying bans on hazardous chemicals

This week the news broke that EPA had moved rules to ban certain uses of three dangerous chemicals from the “pending” column into the “long-term action” column in its regulatory agenda.

in Policy & Regulation

Victory! EPA nominee Michael Dourson withdraws

In a year like 2017, it’s more important than ever to celebrate the victories. This week we learned that Michael Dourson has withdrawn from consideration for Assistant Administrator of the EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. This great news followed a persistent campaign to defeat his nomination by numerous environmental health organizations and […]

in Policy & Regulation

EPA must finish the job on toxic solvents

Almost a year ago, using its authority under the newly reformed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the EPA proposed banning certain uses of three solvent chemicals—methylene chloride (MC or DCM) and N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) for paint and coating removal and trichloroethylene (TCE) for spot removal in dry cleaning and industrial vapor degreasing. Nearly a year later, the agency still hasn’t finalized these protections.

in Policy & Regulation

Families & Senators speak out: EPA toxics nominee Michael Dourson is all wrong for the job

Donald Trump has chosen a chemical industry consultant to run EPA’s chemical safety office. At Michael Dourson’s Senate confirmation hearing last week, one senator suggested that he’s “never met a chemical he didn’t like.”

in Policy & Regulation

EPA: Don’t let industry write the rules on toxic chemicals

Today we were joined by two dozen of our coalition partners in sending a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt about one of his new hires—a chemical industry advocate who got one of the top spots in the EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.

in Policy & Regulation

Chemical romance: EPA Valentine’s Day meeting

This year, a great group of public health advocates and chemical industry lobbyists were thanked for spending our Valentine’s Day talking about chemicals with the EPA staff.

in Policy & Regulation

Let’s get dangerous paint stripper chemicals off store shelves

hardware store

Under the newly reformed Toxics Substance Control Act (TSCA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed limits on the use of two common chemicals in paint strippers. Your voice can help make sure the final regulations are strong.

in Actions & Events, Policy & Regulation

EPA proposes banning additional uses of TCE

Today, under the newly reformed Toxics Substance Control Act (TSCA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed banning certain uses of the toxic chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) due to health risks when used as a vapor degreaser.

in Policy & Regulation

Your calls worked! Congress passes vital bill on lead

Congress voted to pass a package of legislation that authorizes $170 million to respond to the Flint water crisis, with additional resources to address the national problem of lead exposure.

in Lead, Policy & Regulation

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