This month, EPA published two proposals to designate 20 chemical substances as high-priority substances and 20 as low-priority substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The low-priority chemicals, published in the Federal Register August 15, were followed by the high-priority chemicals published August 23. The 20 proposed high-priority chemicals include seven chlorinated solvents, six phthalates, four flame retardants, formaldehyde, a fragrance additive, and a polymer precursor.
In a press release regarding the release of the low-priority substances, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Alexandra Dunn stated, “Today’s action demonstrates EPA’s diligence in meeting its obligations under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act for the 21st Century.” Dunn made similar comments in a news release discussing the high-priority chemicals and went on to say that the public comments “will help advance our understanding about how these chemicals are used in commerce and brings EPA one step closer to completing the prioritization process.”
These notices follow the list of the same 40 chemicals that EPA published in March of this year for initial prioritization under TSCA. In September 2018, EPA released A Working Approach for Identifying Potential Candidate Chemicals for Prioritization, which outlined methods for a pre-prioritization process, a step before the codified initial prioritization. AMWA previously submitted comments in January 2018 to help the agency develop this process.
EPA has opened a docket for each of the 40 chemicals with information regarding the rationale for the designations. The public has until November 13 to provide comments on the low-priority and until November 21 for the high-priority. The agency must finalize both of these proposals before December 2019 – a deadline set by TSCA.