U.S. EPA Announces Further Regulation of Manufactured Goods Under Toxic Substances Control Act
In an announcement that portends substantial regulatory changes, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chemicals office announced a shift in policy to further regulate chemicals within manufactured goods or finished products. The change would mean that importers, manufacturers, and processors will need to know the chemicals in manufactured or finished goods and assess whether EPA restricts those chemicals. (more…)
EPA Adds Three Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) to the Toxics Release Inventory
On June 3, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register a rule adding three more per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the list of chemicals requiring toxic chemicals release reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act and the Pollution Prevention Act, that is, Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The PFAS added are perfluorooctyl iodide, potassium perfluorooctanoate and silver(I) perfluorooctanoate, which must be included in TRI reports due July 1, 2022.
EPA Moves to Revise Chemical Reviews
This month the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued two policy changes that will likely have substantial regulatory effects on chemicals and manufacturing sectors. First, EPA announced that it will reopen risk evaluations for certain high-priority chemicals that were completed under the last administration. Second, EPA announced changes to its new chemical review program to focus more on considering all conditions of use and worker protections for a chemical under review.
EPA TSCA PFAS Reporting Rule Sent for White House Review
On March 1, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent for White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) prepublication review a proposed rule that would require reporting and recordkeeping for the production of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). (more…)
Environmental Protection Agency Releases Draft Supplemental Risk Evaluation for 1,4-Dioxane, Chemical Byproduct in Consumer Goods
After a lengthy public comment review period, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a Draft Supplemental Analysis to the Draft Risk Evaluation for 1,4-Dioxane. EPA’s underlying Draft Risk Evaluation for 1,4-Dioxane was released in June 2019. These documents have been prepared as required by the 2016 Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act for the 21st Century Act amendments to federal Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Those amendments direct EPA to conduct risk evaluations of certain chemicals to determine whether the substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, under the conditions of use, without consideration of costs or other nonrisk factors, while using the best available science and ensuring that decisions are based on the weight of scientific evidence. EPA identified 1,4-dioxane in December 2016 as one of the first 10 chemicals to undergo risk evaluations under the TSCA amendments.
