News Releases from Headquarters›Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP)

What They Are Saying: EPA Continues to Implement Administrator Wheeler’s Directive to Reduce Animal Testing

WASHINGTON (June 24, 2020) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a work plan that serves as a roadmap for meeting its animal testing reduction goals set forth in Administrator Andrew Wheeler's 2019 Directive  . The release of this New Approach Methods (NAMs) Work Plan coincides with the 4th anniversary of the Frank. R. Lautenberg Amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which required that EPA take similar actions to reduce reliance on animal testing. Here's what stakeholders and elected officials are saying:

U.S. Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42): “By releasing the New Approach Methods Work Plan the EPA is taking an import step to reduce or replace the use of animals in testing. I have been proud to lead the effort in Congress to have federally conducted or funded tests utilize alternatives to animal testing wherever possible. The EPA’s actions are a win for taxpayers and a win for animals.”

U.S. Congressman David Schweikert (AZ-06): “I am pleased to see the EPA is moving forward to implement the New Approach Methods (NAM) that will reduce animal testing and help researchers better analyze and control their risk assessment in developmental stages of new chemical trials. This is a great step forward from the EPA. We must continue to work to create efficient, safe, and accurate methods of testing for chemicals and pesticides we utilize each and every day.”

U.S. Congressman Tony Cárdenas (CA-29): “I have been working with our federal agencies to see where we can reduce and replace animal testing with alternative, sound scientific methods. I applaud the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on its new plan to reduce the use of animals in chemical safety testing and provide significant investments in non-animal, alternative experimentation methods. This will mean more accurate outcomes and an elimination of unnecessary, misleading, and painful animal testing. I am heartened that the EPA is recognizing that when animal testing results fail to translate to humans, it wastes time, money, and lives. It is time that we find a better way to conduct research that gives us the same or even more effective results without harming innocent living beings.” 

U.S. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01): “The EPA’s decision to work towards reducing animal testing in their facilities is a great step in the right direction. Their commitment to develop alternative testing is promising. As a member of the bipartisan Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, I’m committed to ensuring our government is doing its part to promote animal welfare.”

Anthony Bellotti, President and Founder, White Coat Waste Project: “White Coat Waste Project and its over 2 million supporters applaud Administrator Wheeler and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for their visionary plan to cut wasteful animal testing, a commendable move that will benefit animals, taxpayers, industry and the environment.”

Sara Amundson, President of the Humane Society Legislative Fund: “Today, in a significant step forward EPA articulates a pathway for challenging and engaging the agency’s scientists and regulators to incorporate New Approach Methods (NAMS) under statutes requiring chemical testing. NAMS will rely on the best science which will also expedite Administrator Wheeler’s previous commitment to replacing mammalian animal testing by 2035—a truly laudable goal. We applaud the agency for progressing with a plan to improve the science for chemical assessments, while also making it more humane.”

Dr. Amy Clippinger, Director of PETA’s Regulatory Testing Department: “EPA planned the work to end tests on mammals by 2035, and now it’s working the plan. PETA applauds the agency for forging ahead in a way that is transparent, inclusive, and protective of human health and the environment.”

Kristie Sullivan, Vice President for Research Policy, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine: “Since the enactment of the Lautenberg Act, we have been impressed by the Agency’s efforts to integrate advanced non-animal approaches into its decision-making. The plan released today will accelerate these efforts and will help to assess chemicals more quickly and accurately, offering protection to human health and the environment while advancing chemical assessment into the 21st Century. The plan addresses crucial needs, including the establishment of metrics to track progress and the evaluation of the scientific quality of existing mammalian approaches.”

To learn more about the agency’s efforts to reduce animal testing, visit: https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/nam