First new chemical determinations released by EPA under amended TSCA.
Last Friday, the U.S. EPA issued its first regulatory determinations for new chemical substances under the newly amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA published premanufacture notices (PMNs) for four new chemicals, concluding that all four were “not likely to present an unreasonable risk” to human health or the environment. The decision means that manufacturers and importers may make or import the chemicals, which will be used as lubricants, plastics additives, and in combination with other substances to make polymers.
For all four new chemicals, the agency found low potential for both human health and environmental hazards. Two of the chemicals were “very persistent,” but the agency found that neither presented an unreasonable risk due to “low potential for bioaccumulation,” as well as low health and environmental hazards.
These actions are the agency’s first under “TSCA 2.0,” after the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act went into effect last month. As reported by Greenwire, the American Chemistry Council lauded the new chemical determinations as “an example of the new law already working.” The environmental advocacy nonprofit EDF praised the EPA’s openness while criticizing the agency on other issues, including the withholding of confidential business information (CBI), use of estimated data, providing only summaries of the determination documents, and “cursory consideration of exposure and exposed subpopulations.”
