EPA Press Office:

Biden-Harris Administration Selects Pennsylvania State University Hershey Medical Center to Receive $1.19M Pollution Prevention Grant to Advance Environmental Justice

PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 12, 2023) - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it selected Pennsylvania State University Hershey Medical Center to receive a $1,199,108 pollution prevention grant under President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, a key pillar of Bidenomics. The funding is made possible by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will go to develop and adopt practices that prevent pollution at the source in local communities.

Penn State College of Medicine’s proposed project will provide technical assistance to business sectors within disadvantaged communities in Pennsylvania and New York to develop a partnership that increases the use of 1,900 Safer Choice labeled products. Technical assistance will include engaging with stakeholders to design community‐based solutions and offering Safer Choice training to businesses and end‐users. The proposed project will improve human health and the environment in disadvantaged communities by reducing human exposure to conventional cleaning chemicals.

“Achieving lasting environmental justice requires community-driven solutions boosted by federal resources,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “President Biden has secured historic levels of funding to address environmental harms in vulnerable communities under his Investing in America agenda. These dollars have supercharged our ability to empower a wide range of businesses from across the country to deploy solutions that prevent pollution while strengthening economic growth.”  

“This funding to Penn State’s College of Medicine is yet another investment the Biden-Harris Administration is making to improve the health and future of communities long overburdened by pollution,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “Getting businesses and households to use safer, greener products will help create healthier, stronger and more sustainable communities.”  

“Thanks to the infrastructure law, Penn State College of Medicine can create safer, cleaner environments for children, families, and businesses, particularly those in disadvantaged communities,” said U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA). “With greater access to cleaning products free of harmful toxins, more Pennsylvanians can lead healthier lives.”

“This pollution prevention grant from the Biden administration is an important step towards preserving our environment. This funding is a significant investment in Pennsylvania business and our planet, that will help businesses manufacture, distribute, and use safer and more sustainable products for the benefit of everyone,” said U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA).

The Environmental Justice Through Safer and More Sustainable Products grant program will assist businesses to increase the supply, demand, and use of safer and more sustainable products, such as those certified by EPA’s Safer Choice program, or that conform to EPA’s Recommendations for Specifications, Standards and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing. 

Ensuring greater availability and use of safer and more sustainable products can reduce harmful chemical exposures and their human health and the environmental impacts in disadvantaged communities and create a more sustainable and accessible marketplace. These efforts will continue to benefit businesses and communities across the nation by capturing what works and what can be adjusted in other communities. Recipients will share successful practices that are new or not widely known, as well as lessons learned, so that future businesses and communities can continue to innovate.

EPA anticipates awarding the grant once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.

Read more about P2 and the P2 Grant Program.

For further information: r3press@epa.gov