Biden to Emphasize Chemicals Concerns of ‘Frontline’ Communities

President-elect Joe Biden’s administration will pay more attention than the Trump administration to the concerns of people with higher-than-average chemical exposures as it decides whether those chemicals should be regulated, attorneys said.

In last month’s final presidential debate, Biden described the health fears faced by “frontline” communities—generally those in poor areas with a predominantly minority population that live near oil refineries and chemical manufacturers.

“It matters how you keep them safe,” he said. “You impose restrictions on the pollution.”

Incorporating concerns of highly exposed and susceptible people into risk evaluations, which determine whether a chemical must be regulated, is part ...