Facing Deadlines, EPA Readies New TSCA Plan To Bolster Data Collection

摘要

Facing a growing burden as they seek to comply with steep deadlines in the revised toxics law, EPA officials are preparing a new proposed rule, slated for release this fall, that they hope will help them gather more data from industry and other parties sooner than they have been and aid their efforts to prioritize existing chemicals for evaluation. According to the unified regulatory agenda released last week, EPA is planning to unveil as soon as this November a proposed rule under section 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that would add specific chemicals that were included in an Obama-era TSCA work plan, but have not yet been evaluated by the agency under the 2016 revised law, to the agency's existing reporting and record-keeping regulations. "TSCA section 8(a) authorizes EPA to require manufacturers (defined by TSCA to include importers) and processors of certain chemicals to report information known to or reasonably ascertainable by them, including information on chemical identity and structure, manufacture, use, exposure, disposal, and health and environmental effects, and to maintain records of such information," the agency says in its agenda listing. "EPA is developing this TSCA section 8(a) rule to obtain information about potential hazards and exposure pathways related to certain chemicals on the TSCA Work Plan, particularly occupational, environmental, and consumer exposure information. This information is needed to inform prioritization and risk evaluation of the chemical substances, as mandated under TSCA section 6," the listing adds.