Posted on July 11, 2012 by Lynn L. Bergeson
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) regulates chemicals. It also regulates chemicals in articles, a little known fact that gives rise to big headaches.
TSCA defines an article as a manufactured item that is formed to a specific shape or design. Articles include an enormous array of items, ranging from car bumpers to electronic devices. While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has used its TSCA authority to regulate articles, it has done so sparingly.
As part of its Enhanced Chemical Management Program, EPA recently proposed Significant New Use Rules (SNUR) for five groups of chemicals (certain PBDEs, HBCD, benzidine-based chemical substances, a type of SCCPs, and DnPP). Three of the proposed SNURs would regulate the chemical substances and articles containing them.
Why is this big news? Well, when EPA issues a SNUR, it is designating a use of a chemical not already in commerce as “new” and subjecting that use to premarket EPA review. This means a manufacturer (including importers) wishing to make a product containing the SNUR substance must submit to EPA a significant new use notice (SNUN) at least 90 days before any commercial use. The uncertain outcome of any SNUN review is the bane of a company’s quest for commercial predictability. Reviews can take considerably longer than 90 days, and EPA’s TSCA authority can be expressed in the imposition of commercial restrictions or operating conditions, some of which may need to be communicated to downstream customers of the SNUN submitter.
There is also concern with the legal and policy implications of these proposals. The proposed rules would regulate SNUR chemicals in articles independent of whether any such article actually poses a risk. EPA notes its concern that if PBDEs contained in articles were exempt, there would be in increase in the amount of PBDEs in commerce in the United States without EPA review as to the implications. This observation, while accurate, falls short of describing any nexus between the presence of PBDEs in articles and risk.
EPA also places an enormous (and some would argue disproportionate) legal burden on commenters to explain existing uses, and to define terms and use applications with sufficient granularity to avoid being considered “new.” Given the complexity of imported articles, EPA’s “one size fits all” approach begs the question whether a more refined subset of articles, products that might actually pose risks, is a more fitting candidate for SNUR regulation.
Important threshold questions of whether EPA should even use its SNUR authority in this way, and the practical implications of doing so, are not framed in the proposals. Whether TSCA’s SNUR authority is the best or only way to address chemical risks, and whether all articles as defined in the proposals present risks worth regulating deserves greater stakeholder discussion. Comments on Federal Register notices that assume the legitimacy of EPA’s legal and policy approach are a poor surrogate for vigorous public debate.
Tags: toxic substances, SNUR chemicals, TSCA, EPA