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After the EPA extended the public comment period on its problem formulation documents for the first 10 chemicals that will receive risk evaluations under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), major stakeholders provided radically divergent views of both the documents and the EPA’s approach to developing them.
In our first environmental enforcement report for August 2018, there were two fines of over $1,000,000. In our second roundup for the month, there’s another one! Of course, there was also a fine for a mere $350, so it’s a wide range. Take a look at six recent cases and the penalties that were doled […]
The June 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) expanded the categories of persons who may request confidential business information (CBI) about chemicals, which regulated entities submitted to the EPA.
Section 8(b)(10) of the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) directs the EPA to develop an inventory of mercury supply, use, and trade in the United States and, based on that inventory, recommend actions, including proposed revisions of federal law or regulations, “to achieve further reductions in mercury use.” To create the inventory, the section […]
As part of its efforts to improve implementation of the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) has updated its guidance document, Points to Consider When Preparing TSCA New Chemical Notifications. The EPA notes that it has incorporated comments from a December 2017 public meeting and feedback received […]
High-priority substances to undergo full risk evaluation EPA’s proposed Procedures for Prioritization of Chemicals for Risk Evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) comprises the Agency’s steps for selecting chemicals it will subject to full risk evaluations, as required by the June 2016 amendments to TSCA. The main objective of the selection or screening […]
The EPA is proposing to use its authority under Section 6(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to prohibit several uses of trichloroethylene (TCE), a volatile organic compound, to eliminate exposures to workers, consumers, and the general population, which, the Agency says, result in significant cancer and noncancer health risks. The proposal would specifically […]
Asbestos—a known human carcinogen the EPA was virtually powerless to regulate under the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)—is the most noticeable member of the Agency’s list of the first 10 chemicals it will evaluate under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which amended the 1976 law. Other well-known chemicals […]
The new section 6(h) of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which greatly expanded the reach of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), requires that within 3 years of the June 22, 2016, date of enactment, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must propose rules to reduce risks (by reducing […]
In a final rule, the EPA has extended the deadline for submitting information required by the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule (July 22, 2015, FR) from September 30, 2016, to October 31, 2016. The Agency states that this is a onetime extension, applying only to the 2016 submission requirement. The amended deadline results from a […]