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Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced this morning that she will oppose the Trump Administration’s nomination of Nancy Beck to oversee the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The announcement came after health advocates in Maine publicly called on Senator Collins to prioritize Mainers’ health and oppose Beck’s nomination. Beck is a former chemical industry lobbyist who has worked to dismantle environmental and public health regulations throughout her career, most recently in her current role overseeing chemical safety at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Sarah Woodbury, Director of Advocacy at the Maine-based Environmental Health Strategy Center, said: “We thank Senator Collins for her leadership on this issue. Putting Beck in charge of consumer safety would put Maine families at great risk. In her current position overseeing chemical safety at the EPA, Beck has worked to roll back rules intended to protect people from harmful substances like asbestos, brain-damaging pesticides, and toxic flame retardants. She has also refused to act to protect people from toxic PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), so-called ‘forever chemicals’ linked to kidney and liver dysfunction as well as certain cancers.

Beck does not belong at the helm of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. We hope that other U.S. Senators follow Senator Collins’ lead and oppose Beck’s nomination.”

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Defend Our Health works to create a world where all people are healthy and thriving, with equal access to safe food and drinking water, and products that are toxic-free and climate-friendly.