TSCA Update: Revised Chemical Risk Determinations

TSCA Chemical Risk Evaluation Updates  

Asbestos (Part 2)

Draft Risk Evaluation for Asbestos—Part 2 (April 2024)
Unreasonable risk? Yes—Health.

Part 1 of the risk evaluation for asbestos addressed chrysotile asbestos (the most common type) and resulted in a ban on ongoing uses that took effect in May 2024.  

Part 2 of the asbestos risk evaluation addresses other types of asbestos fibers, asbestos-containing talc, legacy uses, and associated disposal. EPA is required by a consent order to finalize Part 2 of the risk evaluation for asbestos before December 1, 2024. 

1,4-dioxane 

Draft Supplement to 2020 Risk Evaluation for 1,4-dioxane (July 2023)
Unreasonable risk? Yes—Health. 

Released in 2020, EPA's risk evaluation for 1,4-dioxane found that the chemical poses unreasonable risks to workers under many of its conditions of use. 1,4-dioxane is a substance used primarily as a solvent. EPA expanded on the 2020 risk evaluation for 1,4-dioxane with a Supplement published in July 2023.

Trichloroethylene (TCE)

Final Revision to the Risk Determination (01/09/23) 
Unreasonable risk? Yes—Health.

The initial risk determination for TCE, released in November 2020, found unreasonable risk to workers, occupational non-users, consumers, and bystanders in 52 out of 54 use cases examined.

Carbon Tetrachloride

Final Revision to the Risk Determination (12/27/22) 
Unreasonable risk? Yes—Health.

Carbon Tetrachloride (CASRN 56-23-5) is known by different names in different industries—carbon tet, tetrachloromethane, Halon-104, or Refrigerant-10, for example. The chemical is a clear, sweet-smelling liquid used in refrigerants, aerosol propellants, degreasers, spot remover products, fire extinguishers, and insect fumigants. It was also used as a pesticide until 1986.

1-Bromopropane (1-BP)

Final Revision to the Risk Determination (12/19/22) 
Unreasonable risk? Yes—Health.

1-BP is commonly used as a solvent in vapor degreasing, dry cleaning, sealants, adhesives, and other similar activities. Use of 1-BP in the United States increased after US EPA approved it as a less-harmful replacement for ozone depleting substances (e.g., tetrachloroethylene) in 2007.

n-methylpyrrolidone (NMP)

Final Revision to the Risk Determination (12/19/22) 
Unreasonable risk? Yes—Health.

NMP is used in chemical manufacturing, petrochemical processing, and the electronics industry as a substitute for halogenated solvents. It is also used in the manufacturing of lithium batteries. EPA’s earlier risk determination found unreasonable risk to consumers, workers, and occupational non-users under some conditions of use. 

Perchloroethylene (PCE)

Final Revision to the Risk Determination (12/14/22) 
Unreasonable risk? Yes—Health.

PCE is a colorless liquid used mostly to produce fluorinated compounds for industrial gas manufacturing (e.g., HFCs and HCFCs). It’s also found in adhesives, brake cleaners, aerosol lubricants, sealants, and polishes.

CI Pigment Violet 29 (PV 29)

Final Revision to the Risk Determination (09/06/22) 
Unreasonable Risk? Yes—Health

Used to color materials and as an intermediate for high performance pigments, Color Index Pigment Violet 29 (PV 29) is used in car paints and coatings, commercial printing, and consumer watercolor paints.

Cyclic Aliphatic Bromide Cluster (HBCD)

Final Revision to the Risk Determination (06/29/22)
Unreasonable risk? Yes—Health and Environment.

Cyclic Aliphatic Bromide Cluster chemicals, namely hexabromocyclododecane or HBCD, are a class of flame retardants used in building materials, recycled plastics, and car parts. HBCD has been mostly substituted out of use in the US.

Methylene Chloride (MCL)

Final Revision to the Risk Determination (11/10/22) 
Unreasonable risk? Yes—Health.

The revised risk evaluation for MCL released in late 2022 finds that the chemical presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health. EPA lists many "conditions of use" that drive this unreasonable risk, including domestic manufacturing and import, processing, and re-packaging, as well as use in solvents, adhesives, paints and coatings, and more. 

EPA’s New, "Whole Chemical" Approach to TSCA Risk Evaluations

Posted 07/08/22

EPA is re-evaluating chemical risk assessments completed during the previous administration to, in their words, ensure they are based on sound science and law. Earlier risk determinations failed to sufficiently address risks to workers and the environment, EPA now says.

The updated risk determinations reflect EPA’s “whole chemical approach” to TSCA risk evaluations. EPA announced the major shift in its approach to risk evaluations about one year ago, in June 2021.

Previously, EPA made separate risk determinations for each condition of use of a chemical substance. Under the “whole chemical” approach, EPA considers all conditions of use at the same time, regardless of whether a specific use is regulated (or could be) under other environmental statutes (e.g., the Clean Air Act).

EPA also stresses that previously completed risk determinations wrongly assumed that employees who work with chemicals always wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). That’s not true, EPA now believes. Some employers may fail to provide needed PPE to workers or fail to train personnel on PPE maintenance and use. Even when PPE is made available, it may not be adequate or used properly.

In addition, OSHA developed many of the permissible exposure limits (PELs) for hazardous chemicals decades ago. These PELs are now, in OSHA’s own words, “outdated and inadequate for ensuring protection of worker health.” Now when evaluating the risks of chemicals to workers, EPA does not assume that workers will use appropriate PPE.

EPA published a Final Rule on July 5 to align the TSCA regulations for “significant new uses” of chemical substances with OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) and make other revisions.

TSCA Regulations Online Course

Be confident you know how the "Lautenberg Law" and EPA's ongoing chemical risk evaluations will impact your responsibilities for chemical management, inventory reporting, and recordkeeping under TSCA.

The TSCA Regulations Online Course covers what professionals in the chemical manufacturing, import/export, storage, and processing fields must know to achieve and maintain TSCA compliance. 

Tags: chemicals, Lautenberg Law, TSCA