Jeff Morris, former Director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), wrote a column published on August 18, 2020, by Chemical Watch. In the column, “Expert Focus: Community-based exposures and susceptibilities — a social justice challenge for TSCA implementation,” Morris discusses how risk evaluations conducted under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) provide an opportunity to address community exposures and...
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On August 17, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) published a report entitled Lack of Planning Risks EPA’s Ability to Meet Toxic Substances Control Act Deadlines. OIG conducted the audit to determine whether EPA met the deadlines already imposed by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act) in 2016, which amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and has the staff, resources, and...
August 12, 2020
EPA Finds 16 Conditions of Use of 1-BP Pose an Unreasonable Risk to Workers, ONUs, Consumers, and Bystanders
On August 12, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of the final risk evaluation for 1-bromopropane (1-BP). 85 Fed. Reg. 48687. After evaluating 25 conditions of use, EPA determined that 16 present an unreasonable risk to workers, occupational non-users (ONU), consumers, and bystanders. For those conditions of use for which EPA has found an unreasonable risk, EPA states that it must take regulatory action to address that...
On July 16, 2020, a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGO) filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final risk evaluation for methylene chloride. The NGOs seek review of EPA’s determination “that the chemical methylene chloride does not present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment under certain conditions of use” and its decision not to consider “certain uses...
July 14, 2020
EPA OIG Finds Safer Choice Program Would Benefit from Formal Goals and Additional Oversight
On June 30, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report on its audit to determine whether the Safer Choice program effectively meets its goals and whether the program achieves quality standards through its product qualification, renewal, and required audit processes. OIG states that EPA’s Safer Choice program does not have formal goals included in the fiscal year (FY) 2018-2022 EPA Strategic Plan, and the program has not reported...
June 30, 2020
Industry Associations Petition EPA to Develop Risk Management Procedural Rule under TSCA
On June 3, 2020, the American Coatings Association (ACA), National Association of Manufacturers, Toy Association, National Association of Home Builders, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a risk management procedural rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). According to ACA’s June 15, 2020, press release, ACA “believes that a procedural rule would provide guard rails to ensure consistency, transparency and effective...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice on January 27, 2020, identifying the preliminary lists of manufacturers (including importers) of the 20 chemical substances that EPA designated as high-priority substances for risk evaluation and for which fees will be charged. 85 Fed. Reg. 4661. During the comment period, manufacturers (including importers) are required to self-identify as manufacturers of a high-priority substance irrespective of whether...
During the week of June 15, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California heard from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final three witnesses: Dr. Joyce Tsuji, Dr. Ellen Chang, and Dr. Tala Henry. Food & Water Watch, Inc. v. EPA, Case No. 3:17-cv-02162-EMC. Dr. Tsuji did not dispute that fluoride can be a neurotoxin at “high enough levels.” Dr. Tsuji contended that the scientific literature remains too limited to establish...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on June 12, 2020, that it is opening a public comment period for a manufacturer-requested risk evaluation of octamethylcyclotetra-siloxane (D4), a chemical used to make other silicone chemicals and as an ingredient in some personal care products. EPA states that the manufacturer-requested risk evaluation of D4 is the third evaluation of this kind to be requested under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently published its 2020 Annual Plan for Chemical Risk Evaluations under TSCA (Annual Plan). Section 26(n) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires EPA to publish an annual plan at the beginning of each calendar year that identifies the chemical substances for which EPA expects to initiate or complete risk evaluations that year and the resources necessary for their completion, describes the status of each risk evaluation that has...