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It’s been almost nine years since Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) stakeholders celebrated President Obama’s enactment of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg) on June 22, 2016. Because the road to amending TSCA was long (almost a decade), contentious and complicated, stakeholders may have been more relieved that the process was finally over than interested in the fine print....

It has been almost nine years since Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) stakeholders celebrated President Obama’s enactment on June 22, 2016, of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg). Because the road to amending TSCA was long (almost a decade), contentious, and complicated, stakeholders were perhaps more relieved that the process was finally over than inclined to focus on the fine print. This article discusses mid-course corrections that are desperately...

On January 16, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of and requested public comment on the draft scope of the risk evaluation to be conducted under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for vinyl chloride. 90 Fed. Reg. 4738. EPA notes that under TSCA, the scope documents must include the conditions of use (COU), hazards, exposures, and the potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations (PESS) that EPA expects to consider in conducting its risk...

On January 14, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule to address the unreasonable risk of injury to human health presented by Color Index (C.I.) Pigment Violet 29 (PV29) under its conditions of use (COU) as documented in EPA’s January 2021 risk evaluation and September 2022 revised risk determination. 90 Fed. Reg. 3107. The proposed rule states that the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires that EPA address by rule any unreasonable risk of injury to...

On January 14, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the final risk evaluation for diisononyl phthalate (DINP) conducted under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA states that it has determined that DINP presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health because workers could be exposed to high concentrations of DINP in mist when spraying adhesive, sealant, paint, and coating products that contain DINP. According to EPA, DINP can cause developmental toxicity...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 13, 2025, that it signed a long-awaited memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) formalizing coordination on EPA’s work to assess and manage existing chemicals under Section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). According to EPA’s press release, “EPA and OSHA anticipate that better coordination under this MOU will result in improved workplace health and safety...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released final risk management rules under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) on December 9, 2024, and for carbon tetrachloride (CTC) on December 11, 2024. EPA states that all uses of TCE will be banned over time, with “the vast majority of identified risks eliminated within one year,” and safer alternatives readily available for the majority of uses. The PCE rule will ban manufacture,...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), its global consulting affiliate The Acta Group (Acta®), and consortia management affiliate B&C® Consortia Management, L.L.C. (BCCM) are pleased to share with you our 2025 Forecast. For all the reasons you might imagine, our seasoned team was especially challenged this year in speculating on what to expect in 2025 regarding global industrial, agricultural, and biocidal chemical regulatory and policy initiatives. Given the European Parliamentary...

On December 13, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final Health and Safety Reporting Rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to require manufacturers (including importers) of 16 chemical substances to submit copies and lists of certain unpublished health and safety studies to EPA. 89 Fed. Reg. 100756. The rule applies to manufacturers in the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes for chemical manufacturing (NAICS code 325) and...

On November 13, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of its final supplement to the risk evaluation and revised unreasonable risk determination for 1,4-dioxane under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 89 Fed. Reg. 89993. EPA states in the Federal Register notice that it “used the best available science to prepare this final supplement to the risk evaluation and has determined that 1,4-dioxane poses unreasonable risk to human health.” EPA...

On August 1, 2023, Earthjustice filed a petition under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish regulations prohibiting the manufacturing, processing, use, and distribution of the chemical N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD) for and in tires. Earthjustice filed the petition on behalf of the Yurok Tribe, the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, and the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, and EPA granted the...

On October 31, 2024, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan signed a final rule revising the regulations for decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) and phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)), two of the five persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals addressed in final rules issued under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in January 2021. According to the pre-publication version of the final rule (which is only available on EPA’s...

On October 9, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has issued its fifth Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) test order requiring testing on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under its National PFAS Testing Strategy. The order requires Innovative Chemical Technologies, The Chemours Company, Daikin America, Inc., Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, and E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company to conduct and submit testing on...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed on October 8, 2024, to add 16 individual per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 15 PFAS categories representing more than 100 individual PFAS to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) list of toxic chemicals subject to reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) to comply with the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA). 89 Fed. Reg. 81776....

On September 30, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested public comment on the manufacture of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), during the fluorination of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and other plastic containers to inform regulations as appropriate under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 89 Fed. Reg. 79581. EPA notes that this request for...

On September 26, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the final risk evaluation for Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), a flame retardant and plasticizer. 89 Fed. Reg. 78868. EPA states that it determined that TCEP poses an unreasonable risk of injury to human health and the environment. According to EPA’s September 23, 2024, press release, TCEP “has the potential to cause kidney cancer, damage the nervous system and kidneys, and harm fertility.” EPA notes that...