Washington, DC – The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has once again called on Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency to fully implement amendments to the 2016 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). In the ‘9 in 9 challenge’ it asks for nine key regulatory policies to be addressed within the first nine months of 2023.
ACC has already made repeated calls for EPA to implement the TSCA amendments. This new challenge highlights nine regulatory issues that weaken US chemicals management, and suggests how they might be improved. All represent obstacles to EPA’s full implementation of TSCA.
The recommendations highlighted in the challenge include substantiating TSCA fee increases, making chemical safety determinations for each condition of use, and incorporating existing workplace safety guidelines in occupational risk determinations. They also ask for real-world data in risk evaluations, and improve both transparency and objectivity in peer review.
The association is also calling for Congress to demand an explanation from EPA of why TSCA is still failing to achieve its statutory objectives and deadlines.
“Over the [past] two years, the TSCA programme has been plagued by constant delays and a lack of transparency in how resources are being deployed,” said Kimberly Wise White, ACC’s VP for regulatory and scientific affairs.
“From risk management rulemakings to data reporting, workplace exposure assessments and challenges with meeting statutory deadlines in the New Chemicals programme problems with TSCA implementation continue to persist. Six years since the bipartisan Lautenberg Amendments became law, the TSCA programme remains in need of repair.”
