Vinyl Chloride and 4 Other Chemicals Prioritized for TSCA Risk Evaluation, Restrictions
Updated 07/24/2024
Five chemical substances used to manufacture petrochemicals, plastics, PVC, pharmaceuticals, and more are officially on the path to have their production, distribution, and use restricted or prohibited under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
EPA gave notice on July 25, 2024 that five substances, including vinyl chloride, will be added to the High Priority list for TSCA-mandated risk evaluation. Vinyl chloride was one of the substances involved in a widely publicized train derailment and hazmat release in Ohio in February 2023.
The other four substances covered are acetaldehyde, acrylonitrile, benzenamine, and MBOCA.
Industry stakeholders and the public can submit comments on EPA's announcement until October 23, 2024. In the rest of the blog below, keep reading about these chemicals, how EPA chose them for risk evaluation, and what to expect as the risk evaluation process moves forward in 2024 and 2025.
TSCA Tuesday: 5 Plastics Chemicals May Be Restricted
EPA is prioritizing these 5 chemicals for TSCA risk evaluation:
- Acetaldehyde (CASRN 75-07-0),
- Acrylonitrile (CASRN 107-13-1),
- Benzenamine (CASRN 62-53-3),
- 4,4’-Methylene bis(2-chloroaniline) (MBOCA) (CASRN 101-14-4), and
- Vinyl Chloride (CASRN 75-01-4).
A TSCA risk evaluation is a process by which EPA determines if a chemical made or used in the United States poses “unreasonable risks” to human health or the environment.
If a chemical poses unreasonable risk, the law authorizes the agency to place restrictions on activities like manufacturing, processing, distribution, and use. Those restrictions range from added reporting or notification requirements to all-out prohibition or “ban” on all activities involving the chemical.
Manufacturers use these chemicals to produce goods like plastics, resins, other chemicals, paints, and many others. The fifth substance on the list, vinyl chloride, was the chemical released in a large quantity during the derailment and hazmat release incident in Palestine, OH earlier this year.
What is a TSCA "High Priority" Chemical?
Under TSCA, the process to designate a chemical as a high priority for risk evaluation takes one year and includes opportunities for input from industry stakeholders and the public. As it stands now, EPA "expects these chemicals to be designated as high-priority for risk evaluation" when the process is complete.
The five chemicals listed above would join the list of 20 tagged as high priority in 2019. The announcement from EPA goes on to say that, moving forward, the Agency aims to initiate the prioritization process for five chemicals every year.
Update Jan. 30, 2024: US EPA will hold a webinar on February 20, 2024 from 1 to 4 PM ET during which the agency is interested to learn more about five chemical substances being considered as potential priorities for risk review under TSCA.
Unreasonable Risk: 10 Out Of 10 So Far
EPA has completed ten chemical risk evaluations thus far and in ten-out-of-ten cases found that “unreasonable risk” exists. Already, EPA has followed-up several of those risk evaluations with TSCA prohibitions, new management standards, and worker protections.
EPA started evaluating the risks of chemicals on the TSCA inventory shortly after 2016, when the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety in the 21st Century Act (i.e., LCSA or “Lautenberg Law”) reformed TSCA to add the risk evaluation procedures.
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