EPA Releases Draft Revised Risk Determination for PV29
On March 7, 2022, EPA released a draft revision to the risk determination for C.I. Pigment Violet 29 (PV29). Manufacturers and commercial clients use PV 29 as a weather fast and heat stable pigment in paints and coatings. These paints and coatings are primarily used in automobiles and industrial carpeting. The draft revision comes as part of the path forward EPA released in June 2021 for the first 10 risk evaluations under TSCA.
Risk evaluations are conducted under TSCA section 6. TSCA requires the Agency to conduct risk evaluations to determine whether high priority substances present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment. EPA has determined that PV29, presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health. This determination regarding PV29, evaluated the substance as a “whole chemical,” replaces previous determinations which were based on evaluations of individual conditions of use.
The draft revision risk determination for PV29 does not include an assumption of personal protective equipment (PPE) for workers. Instead, EPA stated that the Agency would consider the use of PPE, and any other potential mitigating factors, during its determination of risk management measures. Note that the January 2021 risk evaluation for PV29found an unreasonable risk to workers, even when proper use of PPE is assumed. The January 2021 risk evaluation identified 14 categories of use and found unreasonable risk exists in 10 of those categories including:
- manufacture,
- processing,
- paints/coatings and merchant ink for commercial printing categories of Industrial/commercial use, and
- disposal.
The draft revision states these same conditions of use will continue to drive EPA’s determination of unreasonable risk for PV 29. The categories of use that were not found to present an unreasonable risk are: distribution in commerce, industrial/commercial use in plastic and rubber products, and consumer uses.
