Lynn L. Bergeson and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D. Quoted in Chemical Watch Article “Chemicals for data centre projects to get priority TSCA pre-market reviews”

On September 23, 2025, comments by Lynn L. Bergeson and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D. were featured in Chemical Watch’s article regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) prioritization of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) pre-market reviews for new chemicals intended for use in data centre projects.

Lynn Bergeson, managing partner at law firm Bergeson & Campbell, said the EPA’s latest initiative “looks promising”. 

Meeting the criteria for what constitutes a qualifying project is “not a walk in the park”, she said, and it is not yet certain how difficult it will be to satisfy those requirements. Even so, “the good news is the criteria are stated”, she added. 

At the same time, Bergeson voiced concern about “the imposition of new programmes that take time to administer, given the crushing burden” faced by the EPA’s new chemicals division.

“While most of the burden falls on the submitter, it is still a new programme that must be managed,” she said. 

Biden-era chemical priorities 

The EPA under the Biden administration took steps to speed the reviews of new chemicals for certain sectors, and some of those efforts continue under the current leadership, according to Rich Engler, director of chemistry for Bergeson & Campbell. 

For example, the EPA is still using a categorisation approach for its hazard assessments of mixed metal oxides (MMOs) and cathode active materials (CAMs), which “does reduce EPA’s effort during the review” process, Dr Engler said. 

Similarly, a Biden-era category process for reviewing photo-acid generators (PAGs) used in semiconductor manufacturing has resulted in the EPA’s timely completion of several notices submitted in 2025, he said. 

The process took shape after a group of PAG producers formed a consortium to help smooth the review process for the relatively data-poor substances. As a result, “PAGs now submitted as pre-manufacture notices (PMNs) get quick review and a cookie-cutter consent order that requires extensive release and exposure controls and extensive testing requirements,” he said. 

On the other hand, a biofuels category developed under the Biden administration appears to be on hold, Dr Engler said. 

Similarly, the EPA is no longer prioritising the reviews of chemicals that support the climate objectives in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) after the agency expended a separate pool of funds to complete those reviews, he said.

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