NRDC report says Trump administration took 500 actions to weaken cancer protections

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an environmental advocacy group, alleges in an October report that the Trump administration has taken more than 500 actions to dismantle protections against cancer-causing substances, known as carcinogens. ¹ The Guardian reported on the findings Thursday. ¹

The timing matters. Some forms of early onset cancer are rising by about 30% per decade, and officials estimate more than 2 million U.S. cancer diagnoses this year. ¹ Colon cancer rates in people younger than 50 rose nearly 3% a year from 2013 to 2022, and childhood leukemia is up 35% in recent decades. ¹

What the report alleges

The report says the changes reach well beyond the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It names the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, among other agencies. ¹

The alleged actions include scrapping protective rules, granting presidential exemptions to polluters, delaying rules already in motion, ending research funding and making wide cuts to cancer research staff. ¹

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One of the biggest shifts is away from a long-standing EPA principle that no level of carcinogen exposure is safe. ¹ The Trump EPA has begun using a "threshold" approach that treats some exposures as safe, and the Guardian reports this has already weakened protections against formaldehyde, a chemical used in many consumer goods. ¹

David Fotouhi, the EPA's second-ranking official, wrote in an early 2026 memo that the agency had been too conservative in estimating chemicals' health risks, and suggested those values be loosened. ¹ Betsy Southerland, a former EPA water office director, said changes to risk assessments are among the most pernicious moves, because those findings underpin rules protecting air, water and consumer goods. ¹

The report also says the agency delayed requirements for industry to provide cancer data on benzene, bisphenol A and vinyl chloride. It is unclear when that review will happen. ¹ The administration has also delayed new asbestos protections and sided with Bayer in keeping the pesticide glyphosate on the market. ¹

What officials and the authors say

The vast majority of people have no idea that this is happening because the Trump administration is mostly doing it without a lot of fanfare, so it’s hard to piece together this jigsaw puzzle, but we did and it shows a stark and shocking picture

An EPA employee who declined to be named, fearing retribution, said former industry officials now run the agency and it is "horrifying to watch it all play out." ¹

surprised by the breadth of the whole government effort to undermine all the protections against cancer

The Guardian said it contacted the White House and the EPA for comment. ¹

Why it matters

That matters because these changes are technical and rarely make headlines. A looser risk number can quietly weaken limits on what is allowed into the air and water. ¹

In an April opinion piece, Dylan Gyauch-Lewis of the Revolving Door Project argued the administration has weakened cancer prevention and research. ² That is one writer's opinion, not independent confirmation of the NRDC's count. ²

The Record

1. Apr 23, 2026Revolving Door Project researcher Dylan Gyauch-Lewis publishes an opinion piece arguing the administration has weakened cancer prevention and research ².
2. Nov 5, 2026The Guardian reports on NRDC's October report counting more than 500 actions weakening cancer protections ¹.

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<h2>NRDC report says Trump administration took 500 actions to weaken cancer protections</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Kitchen-Table Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/nrdc-report-says-trump-administration-took-500-actions-to-weaken-cancer-protections">The GOP Files</a> on Thursday, November 5, 2026.</em></p> <p>The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an environmental advocacy group, alleges in an October report that the Trump administration has taken more than 500 actions to dismantle protections against cancer-causing substances, known as carcinogens. The Guardian reported on the findings Thursday.</p> <p>The timing matters. Some forms of early onset cancer are rising by about 30% per decade, and officials estimate more than 2 million U.S. cancer diagnoses this year. Colon cancer rates in people younger than 50 rose nearly 3% a year from 2013 to 2022, and childhood leukemia is up 35% in recent decades.</p> <h2>What the report alleges</h2> <p>The report says the changes reach well beyond the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It names the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, among other agencies.</p> <p>The alleged actions include scrapping protective rules, granting presidential exemptions to polluters, delaying rules already in motion, ending research funding and making wide cuts to cancer research staff.</p> <p>One of the biggest shifts is away from a long-standing EPA principle that no level of carcinogen exposure is safe. The Trump EPA has begun using a &quot;threshold&quot; approach that treats some exposures as safe, and the Guardian reports this has already weakened protections against formaldehyde, a chemical used in many consumer goods.</p> <p>David Fotouhi, the EPA&#39;s second-ranking official, wrote in an early 2026 memo that the agency had been too conservative in estimating chemicals&#39; health risks, and suggested those values be loosened. Betsy Southerland, a former EPA water office director, said changes to risk assessments are among the most pernicious moves, because those findings underpin rules protecting air, water and consumer goods.</p> <p>The report also says the agency delayed requirements for industry to provide cancer data on benzene, bisphenol A and vinyl chloride. It is unclear when that review will happen. The administration has also delayed new asbestos protections and sided with Bayer in keeping the pesticide glyphosate on the market.</p> <h2>What officials and the authors say</h2> <blockquote><p>The vast majority of people have no idea that this is happening because the Trump administration is mostly doing it without a lot of fanfare, so it’s hard to piece together this jigsaw puzzle, but we did and it shows a stark and shocking picture</p><p>&mdash; Erik Olson, lead author, Natural Resources Defense Council report</p></blockquote> <p>An EPA employee who declined to be named, fearing retribution, said former industry officials now run the agency and it is &quot;horrifying to watch it all play out.&quot;</p> <blockquote><p>surprised by the breadth of the whole government effort to undermine all the protections against cancer</p><p>&mdash; Erik Olson, lead author, Natural Resources Defense Council report</p></blockquote> <p>The Guardian said it contacted the White House and the EPA for comment.</p> <h2>Why it matters</h2> <p>That matters because these changes are technical and rarely make headlines. A looser risk number can quietly weaken limits on what is allowed into the air and water.</p> <p>In an April opinion piece, Dylan Gyauch-Lewis of the Revolving Door Project argued the administration has weakened cancer prevention and research. That is one writer&#39;s opinion, not independent confirmation of the NRDC&#39;s count.</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/nrdc-report-says-trump-administration-took-500-actions-to-weaken-cancer-protections">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/nrdc-report-says-trump-administration-took-500-actions-to-weaken-cancer-protections.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

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Sources

1. The Guardian, “Trump takes 500 actions to weaken cancer protections, new report says” (2026-11-05). theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/05/trump-cancer-carcinogen-
2. Common Dreams, “Opinion: Trump war on cancer patients” (2026-04-23). commondreams.org/opinion/trump-war-on-cancer-patients

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