How US EPA assesses and regulates chemicals under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act has a number of implications for workplace and consumer safety regulation. In particular, chemicals regulated under other environmental statutes may bear on US EPA’s plans in this arena. US EPA has not regulated a chemical under TSCA Section 6, which provides … Continue Reading
The US EPA has issued a “First Year Implementation Plan” outlining the steps it will take over the next year (and beyond) toward implementing the requirements of the new Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, the legislation signed into law by President Obama on June 22 to modernize the Toxic Substances … Continue Reading
On June 22, 2016 President Barack Obama signed into law the “Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act,” the landmark legislation modernizing the decades-old Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The Lautenberg Act is the first substantive update of TSCA since it was passed 40 years ago in 1976 and signed into law … Continue Reading
On June 7, 2016 the US Congress passed the “Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act,” the landmark bipartisan, compromise legislation to overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The Lautenberg Act is expected to be signed into law by President Obama very soon. As passed by Congress, the Lautenberg Act makes … Continue Reading
The clock will soon begin running for companies that are required to report data under US EPA’s Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule on the chemical substances they manufacture and import pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Under the rule, the reports must be submitted to US EPA between June 1 and September 30, … Continue Reading
On April 8, 2016, US EPA issued a final significant new use rule (“SNUR”) for trichloroethylene (“TCE”). The TCE SNUR requires anyone manufacturing, importing or processing TCE for use in a consumer product to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing any such manufacturing, importation or processing. The SNUR expressly exempts the use of … Continue Reading
On December 17, 2015 the US Senate passed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, the Senate’s version of legislation to overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”). The bipartisan bill was introduced on March 10, 2015 by Senators Tom Udall (D-NM) and David Vitter (R-LA) and was approved by the … Continue Reading
On June 23, 2015, by a vote of 398-1, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved HR 2576, the “TSCA Modernization Act of 2015,” a landmark bill that would significantly amend the decades-old Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The legislation approved by the full US House of Representatives is slightly different from the version voted … Continue Reading
In another sign of the momentum building for reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), on June 3, 2015, the US House Committee on Energy & Commerce (E&C Committee) approved HR 2576, the “TSCA Modernization Act of 2015,” by a 47 to 0 vote, with one abstention. A bipartisan bill introduced by Reps. John Shimkus … Continue Reading
On May 14, 2015, the Subcommittee on Environment & the Economy of the US House Committee on Energy & Commerce (E&C Committee) unanimously approved a “discussion draft” bill to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) proposed by Subcommittee Chairman John Shimkus (R-IL). The discussion draft, entitled the “TSCA Modernization Act of 2015,” was approved by a … Continue Reading
On April 28, 2015, the U.S. Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee approved S.697, the bipartisan bill introduced on March 10 by Senators Tom Udall (D-NM) and David Vitter (R-LA) to modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Before approving S.697, the EPW Committee amended the bill with compromise language negotiated by Senators Udall … Continue Reading
US EPA has updated its Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan for Chemical Assessments, the Agency’s list of priority chemicals for analysis, adding 23 new chemicals to the list while removing or consolidating 16 others. US EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety & Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) produced the original list of Work Plan chemicals in … Continue Reading
U.S. Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and David Vitter (R-LA) announced last Thursday that former top Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials from the Administrations of President Barack Obama and George W. Bush were supporting the bipartisan legislation that the Senators introduced last week to modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Squire Sanders lawyer Stephen … Continue Reading
On May 22, 2013, Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and David Vitter (R-LA) introduced the “Chemical Safety Improvement Act” (CSIA). Co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 14 additional Senators, the CSIA would “modernize” the existing Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and bring about a major overhaul of this country’s chemical management regulatory regime. Among its more … Continue Reading
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report critiquing the EPA’s efforts under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and recommending that EPA take more aggressive steps under TSCA to achieve the agency’s goals of ensuring the safety of chemicals. The GAO report, “EPA Has Increased Efforts to Assess and Control Chemicals, but … Continue Reading
