TSCA Tuesday: News for Chemical Industry Pros

Last week, US EPA put forth three TSCA-related actions you should know about if you manufature, process, or use chemicals on the TSCA Inventory: New user fees to defray the costs of Lautenberg Law-required risk evaluations, the withdrawal of Significant New Use Rules for 145 chemicals, and preparations for the next 73 chemical risk evaluations EPA must complete. 

TSCA User Fees Finalized

EPA has finalized its Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) user fees pursuant to TSCA Section 26(b)—which the agency will collect from chemical industry stakeholders to defray the cost of various activities EPA must complete under the law. 

Are you the go-to person for TSCA compliance at work? The TSCA Regulations Online Course will help you identify and comply with the complex rules you must know to handle store, process, and manufacture chemical substances and report to EPA.

EPA has established eight types of fees for activities covered by Sections 4, 5, and 6 of TSCA:
 

• Test orders (Sec. 4)
• Test rules (Sec. 4)
• Enforceable consent agreements (Sec. 4)
• Notices—Pre-manufacture Notifications, SNUNs, others (Sec. 5)
• Exemptions—LVEs, LoREX, TME, Tier II, others (Sec. 5)
• EPA-initiated risk evaluations (Sec. 6)
• Manufacturer-initiated risk evaluations for chemicals on the TSCA Work Plan (Sec. 6)
• Manufacturer-initiated risk evaluations for chemicals not on the TSCA Work Plan (Sec. 6)

The total fee cost for each activity is expressed as a percentage of the total estimated activity cost to EPA. EPA estimates that its efforts to prioritize and evaluate chemicals will cost the Agency about $80 million per year through FY 2021.

See the pre-publication copy of the TSCA user fee rule here.

EPA Withdraws SNURs for 145 Chemical Substances

US EPA has withdrawn Significant New Use Rules, or SNURs, for 145 chemical substances. Initially posted as a Direct Final Rule on August 1 of this year, these SNURs will now be subject to the normal proposal and comment process.

In a separate rulemaking last month, EPA announced new SNURs for 27 chemicals used as flame retardants. They include plasticizers, lubricants, and waterproofers in products like rubber, textiles, and adhesives.

Lautenberg Law: Next 73 Chemicals Up for TSCA Risk Evaluation 

EPA is preparing to open the public dockets for 73 chemical substances from the 2014 TSCA Work Plan for Chemical Assessments. EPA will use data submitted about chemicals’ properties, uses, toxicity, hazards, exposure monitoring, and engineering controls to inform prioritization of the risk evaluations.
See the full list of chemicals on EPA’s website.

As amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety in the 21^st Century Act, or LCSA, TSCA requires US EPA to evaluate the environmental and human health risks posed by all chemicals on the TSCA Inventory. Under the law, EPA must begin a new risk evaluation each time it completes one. By 2019, EPA will be working on 20 chemical risk evaluations at any one time.

TSCA Compliance Training Online—Convenient, Fast, and Effective

Be confident you know your responsibilities for compliance under the latest TSCA regulations. Covering the critical updates to TSCA as amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21^st Century Act (LCSA), the TSCA Regulations Online Course will help you build the in-depth expertise you need to manage compliance with TSCA and guide you through your responsibilities for reporting, recordkeeping, and managing your chemical inventory.

Learn more or sign up here.

Tags: chemicals, EPA, new rules, reporting and recordkeeping, TSCA