WASHINGTON (November 29, 2016) – As required by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act—bipartisan legislation enacted to update the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA)—the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced the first ten chemicals for which the Agency will conduct risk evaluations under the new law. The law requires that the first ten be drawn from EPA’s 2014 list of TSCA Work Plan chemicals.
As expected, the first ten chemicals for risk evaluations announced by EPA include substances from EPA’s 2014 list of TSCA Work Plan chemicals for which the Agency already has risk assessments underway. The list also includes substances with completed Work Plan risk assessments (i.e., TCE, NMP, MC) as well as Work Plan substances for which risk evaluations have not yet been initiated.
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) issued the following statement in response:
“It is important to note that a chemical's inclusion in this first group of ten chemicals does not in and of itself indicate anything about the safety of the chemical. Its listing is simply an acknowledgment by the Agency that it plans to conduct risk evaluations on these ten chemicals before others. Under the new law, we expect EPA to conduct risk evaluations using a tiered approach that includes an initial screening-level evaluation. If necessary, a more detailed evaluation to quantify potential risks will be conducted. Under the new law, when EPA conducts risk evaluations it must consider a chemical’s conditions of use and its hazard and exposure potential. The Agency is also required to base its risk evaluations on the highest quality, most relevant scientific data and the weight of the scientific evidence. In order to help ensure the most credible results, it is imperative that EPA engage stakeholders early and often throughout the risk evaluation process, including through peer review and public comment.”