"EPA cranks out toxics rules during Obama’s last days in office"

Chemical regulation: EPA cranks out toxics rules during Obama’s last days in office

"The Environmental Protection Agency’s office that oversees the safety of chemicals in industrial and household products has been exceptionally busy in the final days of the Obama Administration. The office has been feverishly working to ensure that it meets several upcoming deadlines under the revised Toxic Substances Control Act. It has also been pushing out several proposed rules under TSCA that would ban or restrict certain uses of some high-risk solvents.

The revised TSCA, which was enacted in June 2016, gives EPA until June 2017 to develop processes for prioritizing high-risk chemicals and evaluating their safety. EPA must also develop a process by June for updating the chemical inventory to reflect only chemicals that are in current use. That means manufacturers need to provide EPA with information on chemicals they have made or used within the last 10 years.

EPA is well on its way toward meeting the one-year deadlines mandated under the new TSCA. The agency proposed three new rules on January 13 that provide, for the first time in 40 years, a foundation for prioritizing and evaluating high-risk chemicals in U.S. commerce."

Britt E. Erickson reports for Chemical & Engineering News January 17, 2017.