EPA Sends TSCA Chemical Prioritization Plan to OMB

US EPA has now submitted its “Procedures for
Prioritization of Chemicals for Risk Evaluation,” required  under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) as amended in June 2016, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. EPA projects that it will publish a Final Rule to the Federal Register this month.
 
Signed into law on June 22, 2016, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21^st Century Act amends TSCA and orders US EPA to develop a screening process for chemical substances, deem chemicals as high- or low-priority health and safety risks, and evaluate the risks of the high-priority substances. EPA is authorized under TSCA to remove from commerce or impose stricter requirements on chemicals if a risk evaluation deems it necessary.  

The procedures handed off to OMB recently lay out the steps US EPA will follow to determine which chemicals are high priority and which are low priority.

First 10 Chemicals Already Announced

In December 2016, US EPA announced that ten chemical deemed as high-priority would be the first up for risk evaluation.  The “Lautenberg Act,” as it’s sometimes called for short, requires EPA to begin a new risk evaluation each time the Agency finishes one. By December 2019, EPA plans to be working on 20 risk evaluations at any given time.
 

Other New TSCA Rules

On top of requiring EPA to prioritize and evaluate the risks of chemicals used by industry, the Lautenberg Act expands the TSCA inventory reporting requirements for chemical manufacturers, importers, and processors. A Final Rule to update the chemical inventory reporting rules is expected this month. For more on how the Lautenberg Act will impact your responsibilities under TSCA, check out: Your New TSCA Rules Breakdown.

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