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On June 26, 2024, B&C, along with the Environmental Law Institute and the George Washington University Milken Institute of Public Health, sponsored the all-day virtual conference, TSCA Reform — Eight Years Later. The quality of the discussion, the caliber of the participants, and the timeliness of the content motivated us to repurpose the substantive sessions. B&C and ELI are pleased to co-sponsor this episode of All Things Chemical® to enable our podcast audience to listen to...

On July 25, 2024, the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking a rule under Section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to prohibit the production of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) during Inhance Technologies, LLC’s (Inhance) fluorination process. As reported in our May 23, 2024, blog item on their...

On July 5, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued its decision in Vinyl Institute, Inc. v. EPA (No. 22-1089). As reported in our May 31, 2022, blog item, on May 23, 2022, the Vinyl Institute, Inc. (VI) filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), seeking review of EPA’s March 2022 test order for 1,1,2-trichloroethane (1,1,2-TCA) issued under Section 4(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)....

On June 10, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina’s decision to dismiss a case challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) response to a petition seeking a test order for 54 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for lack of jurisdiction. CEH v. EPA, No. 23-1476. The district court granted EPA’s motion to dismiss, finding that EPA granted the petition...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 27, 2023, that it denied a January 26, 2023, petition from Blueland, Plastic Pollution Coalition, and partners, including Beyond Plastics, Plastic Oceans International, The Shaw Institute, Lonely Whale, 5 Gyres, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Oceanic Global Foundation, The Last Beach Cleanup, Rio Grande International Study Center, Inland Ocean Coalition, Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, Turtle Island...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has posted two new resource documents for recipients of test orders under Section 4 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The August 5, 2022, policy document entitled “Policies Regarding Manufacturers and Processors Subject to TSCA Section 4(a) Testing” provides two policies: The August 5, 2022, policy document entitled “Removal of Certain Companies from Seven TSCA Section 4(a)(2) Orders Issued in 2022” states that although EPA’s...

On May 23, 2022, the Vinyl Institute, Inc. (VI) filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), seeking review of EPA’s March 2022 test order for 1,1,2-trichloroethane issued under Section 4(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). As reported in our March 25, 2022, blog item, EPA announced on March 24, 2022, that it issued a second round of test orders under TSCA Section 4 to obtain...

As reported in our March 25, 2022, blog item, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 24, 2022, that it issued a second round of test orders under Section 4 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to obtain additional data on eight of the next 20 chemicals undergoing risk evaluation. In April 2022, EPA issued corrections to the following test orders: EPA amended Appendix D — Order Recipient Selection. Appendix D referred...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 24, 2022, that it has issued a second round of test orders under Section 4 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to obtain additional data on eight of the next 20 chemicals undergoing risk evaluation. EPA states that after reviewing reasonably available data on these chemicals, it determined additional data are needed and is using its TSCA test order authority to require companies to develop and submit...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 4, 2022, the availability of the latest Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory. EPA states that the biannual update to the public TSCA Inventory is part of its regular posting of non-confidential TSCA Inventory data. EPA plans the next regular update of the Inventory for summer 2022. According to EPA, the Inventory contains 86,631 chemicals, of which 42,039 are active in U.S commerce. Other updates include new chemical...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on December 28, 2021, it is granting a petition from six North Carolina public health and environmental justice organizations filed under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to compel companies to conduct testing of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The previous Administration denied the petition on January 22, 2021. 86 Fed. Reg. 6602. The petition sought issuance of a rule or order under TSCA...

 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 31, 2021, the availability of the latest Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory. EPA states that the biannual update to the public TSCA Inventory is part of its regular posting of non-confidential TSCA Inventory data. EPA plans the next regular update of the Inventory for winter 2022. According to EPA, the Inventory contains 86,607 chemicals of which 41,953 are active in U.S commerce. Other updates to the TSCA...

This week’s All Things Chemical™ Podcast will be of interest to readers of the TSCAblog™. A brief description of the episode written by Lynn L. Bergeson is below. This week, I sat down with Heather J. Blankinship, Senior Manager with B&C® Consortia Management (BCCM), a Bergeson & Campbell (B&C®) affiliate, and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., B&C’s Director of Chemistry, to discuss chemical testing under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Since Congress amended...

On May 21, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its response to a portion of the petition it received February 8, 2021, from People for Protecting Peace River, Center for Biological Diversity, and 16 other organizations. 86 Fed. Reg. 27546. While the petition requested three actions related to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA states that it has determined that only one of those actions is an appropriate request: a request to issue...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice on April 28, 2021, announcing a 30-day comment period on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Interagency Testing Committee’s (ITC) revisions to the Priority Testing List.  86 Fed. Reg. 22414.  In the 74th ITC Report, ITC revised the TSCA Section 4(e) Priority Testing List by adding the following 15 high-priority substances designated pursuant to TSCA Section 6(b) and 24 organohalogen...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 3, 2021, the latest update to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory, “a list of all existing chemical substances manufactured, processed, or imported” in the United States.  EPA states that this biannual update to the public TSCA Inventory is part of its regular posting of non-confidential TSCA Inventory data.  EPA plans to release the next regular update of the Inventory in summer 2021.  According to EPA,...

On January 22, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the reasons for its denial of a petition requesting it to require health and environmental effects testing on 54 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).  86 Fed. Reg. 6602.  The petition sought issuance of a rule or order under TSCA Section 4 compelling The Chemours Company (Chemours) to fund and carry out this testing under the direction of a panel of independent scientists.  EPA states that...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 15, 2021, that it has issued test orders under Section 4 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to obtain additional data on nine of the next 20 chemicals undergoing risk evaluation.  EPA states that after reviewing the available data on these chemicals, it determined additional data are needed and is using its TSCA test order authority to require companies to develop and submit information on...

On October 14, 2020, a coalition of North Carolina non-governmental organizations (NGO) petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 4 test rule for 54 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) manufactured by The Chemours Company (Chemours) at its chemical production facility in Fayetteville, North Carolina.  The petition, filed under TSCA Section 21, seeks issuance of a rule or order under TSCA Section 4 compelling...

On September 30, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a webinar on “Identification of NAMs for Placement on the TSCA Section 4(h)(2)(C) List:  A Proposed NAM Nomination Form.”  The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act) amended Section 4(h)(2)(c) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to require EPA to develop a list of alternative test methods or strategies that are “scientifically reliable, relevant, and capable of...

On October 17, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its final fees rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in the Federal Register.  83 Fed. Reg. 52694.  The final rule largely tracks the proposed rule.  EPA is establishing fees applicable to any person required to submit information to EPA; or a notice, including an exemption or other information, to be reviewed by EPA; or who manufactures (including imports) a chemical substance that is the subject of...

On September 27, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the user fees final rule for the administration of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the fourth and remaining framework rule to be issued in final under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg). This final rule, that amends 40 C.F.R. Parts 700, 720, 723, 725, 790, and 791, “describes the final TSCA fees and fee categories for fiscal...

On August 31, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review a final rule regarding user fees for the administration of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  As reported in our February 9, 2018, memorandum, “Administrator Pruitt Signs TSCA User Fee Proposal,” as amended by the Frank Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, TSCA provides EPA the authority to levy fees on certain chemical...