On August 11, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) convened a public meeting to solicit comments prior to development of a proposed rule to implement the revised Section 26 fees provision under the new Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Public comments may be submitted through regulations.gov in docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0401 until August 24, 2016. During the meeting, EPA solicited public comment in particular on the following five issues: To be able to...
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On July 28, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to update the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) procedures. 81 Fed. Reg. 49598. As discussed in our previous memorandum on this proposed rule, Proposed Revisions to Significant New Use Rules Reflect Current Occupational Safety and Health Standards, while some of the proposed changes are not consequential, other changes, such as those related to workplace protections, are more clearly...
On August 21, 2014, a coalition of environmental, health, and labor groups filed a 23-page petition with EPA requesting that the Agency "establish time limits for confidentiality claims for chemical information submitted by industry under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)." According to Earthjustice's press release, change is needed because currently "[u]nder TSCA, industry is given wide latitude to claim such information confidential, making it unavailable to state and...
December 28, 2011
EPA Publishes Proposed SNURs for CNTs
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published on December 28, 2011, proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) for 17 chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN). Of particular interest, seven of the PMN substances’ reported chemical names include the term “carbon nanotube” (CNT) or “CNT.” EPA states that because of a lack of established nomenclature for CNTs, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory names for CNTs are...
January 13, 2009
EPA Announces Receipt of CNT PMNs
In a January 5, 2009, Federal Register notice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces receipt of several premanufacture notices (PMN) concerning multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT). Under Section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA requires any person who intends to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) a new chemical (i.e., a chemical not on the TSCA Inventory) to notify EPA and comply with the statutory provisions pertaining to the...