CPSC Guide Could Give EPA Alternative To Partial Methylene Chloride Ban

摘要

The Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) recent guidance calling for product labels to warn of acute inhalation hazards of paint strippers containing methylene chloride could give EPA an alternative to calls for a first-time ban on some uses of the substance, such as industry calls to promote risk management options. "They're not bound to go back and adopt the proposed regulatory text" that called for banning the use of the methylene chloride in paint strippers, says one industry source. Whatever EPA chooses to do, it would set a precedent as the final rule will mark the agency's first use of authority contained in the new Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that allows the agency to ban uses of existing chemicals - those that were on the market when the law was first enacted in 1976. Under pressure from environmentalists and families of those killed from exposure to the substance, EPA announced last week that it will take final "action" on an Obama-era proposal to ban methylene chloride, but did not explicitly say it will finalize a ban.