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By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 10, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a quarterly update of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) confidential business information (CBI) review statistics. The data summarize the number of CBI cases under review and results of completed reviews through March 1, 2020. In addition, a spreadsheet showing the details of completed TSCA CBI determinations through March 1, 2020, is available. EPA states that making this information publicly...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On April 9, 2020, EPA issued a final rule amending the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) regulations by extending the 2020 report submission deadline to November 30, 2020. The extension applies to the 2020 submission period only. As many are aware, CDR regulations require manufacturers (including importers) of certain chemical substances to report data on the manufacturing, processing, and use of the chemical...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published a proposed rule on April 1, 2020, that would amend the significant new use rules (SNUR) for certain chemical substances that were the subject of a premanufacture notice (PMN) and a significant new use notice (SNUN), including functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) (generic).  85 Fed. Reg. 18173.  This action would amend the SNURs to allow certain new uses reported in the SNUNs without additional notification...

The Acta Group (Acta®) announced today the launch of CDR Cross-Check™, an ingenious yet simple tool developed and offered by Acta to assist companies in preparing for the 2020 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). CDR Cross-Check utilizes the most recent CDR listing information publicly available provided by EPA (currently, 2016 lists) to identify whether all or some of a company’s inventory of chemical substances are subject to...

By Lynn L. Bergeson EPA published a Federal Register notice on March 20, 2020, inviting the public to nominate scientific experts from a diverse range of disciplines to be considered for appointment to the TSCA Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC). 85 Fed. Reg. 16094. EPA is seeking nominations of individuals who have demonstrated high levels of expertise in scientific and/or technical fields relevant to chemical safety and risk assessment, including, but not limited to: human health...

By Lynn L. Bergeson The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 25, 2020, that it will consider a proposed rule that would look at providing exemptions to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) fees rule in response to stakeholder concerns about implementation challenges. EPA states that by considering a proposal to narrow the broad scope of the current requirements, it “could significantly reduce burden on potentially thousands of businesses across the country while...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 6, 2020, EPA published its final rule on procedures for review of confidential business information (CBI) claims made under TSCA. 85 Fed. Reg. 13062. The final rule includes the requirements for regulated entities to substantiate certain CBI claims made under TSCA to protect the specific chemical identities of chemical substances on the confidential portion of the TSCA Inventory, and EPA’s plan for reviewing certain CBI claims for specific chemical identities....

By Lynn L. Bergeson The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 11, 2020, the availability of the latest Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory. EPA states that this biannual update to the public TSCA Inventory is part of its regular posting of non-confidential TSCA Inventory data. According to EPA, this update adds 81 new chemicals, and the Inventory as a whole now contains 86,405 chemicals, of which 41,484 are active in U.S commerce. Other updates to the TSCA...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 17, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of a final rule amending the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule. According to EPA, the amendments are intended to reduce the burden for certain CDR reporters, improve the quality of CDR data collected, and align reporting requirements with the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act’s (Lautenberg Act) amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)....

By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 6, 2020, EPA announced via the Federal Register its final rule on requirements for regulated entities to substantiate certain confidential business information (CBI) made under TSCA. The substantiation requirements describe the applicable procedures and provide instructions for regulated entities, providing the review criteria and related procedures that EPA will use to complete the reviews within the five-year time frame set in TSCA. The final rule will be effective...