EPA Suspends Chemical Reporting After Industry Complaints

Responding to industry complaints about its efforts to tighten chemical reporting rules, EPA has totally suspended requirements for reporting of potentially toxic chemicals in commerce under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

Under TSCA, companies must regularly report on the chemicals they are using and related risk information in a process called Inventory Update Reporting (IUR). In 2010, EPA proposed tightening IUR requirements in ways that would give the public more information about chemical risks they faced. In response to industry complaints about the tighter reporting requirements, EPA on May 11, 2011, suspended all reporting under the IUR during the next reporting period, which runs from June through September.

• "EPA Suspends Chemical Reporting," OMB Watcher, OMB Watch, May 17, 2011.
• Final Rule: "TSCA Inventory Update Reporting Modifications; Submission Period Suspension," Federal Register, May 11, 2011, pp. 27271-27274.