EPA requests input on proposed significant new use rules for six chemicals, issues final rule for others

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency, in accordance with the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, is seeking comment on proposed significant new use rules for six chemical substances that are subject to agency premanufacture notices.

According to a proposed rule published in the Jan. 16 Federal Register, each rule would “require persons who intend to manufacture or process any of these chemical substances for an activity that is designated as a significant new use to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing that activity.” Advance notice will allow the agency to regulate the intended use as needed, the proposed rule states.

For one of the substances, EPA raised concerns over possible irritation and carcinogenicity. Concerns the agency cited among the others include irritation to skin and mucous membranes, irritation and corrosion to all tissues, developmental effects, lung effects, and reproductive effects.

Comments are due Feb. 18.

Additionally, in a final rule published in the Jan. 9 Federal Register, EPA announced it has issued final significant new use rules for 67 chemical substances that were the subject of agency premanufacture notices and orders under the Toxic Substances Control Act. This action also came in accordance with the Lautenberg Act.

The rule states that each substance was subject to consent orders under section 5(e) of TSCA – which the Lautenberg Act amended – and “may present unreasonable risk to human health or the environment.”

The final significant new use rules are slated to go into effect March 9. In an email to Safety+Health, an EPA spokesperson wrote that although the Administrative Procedure Act typically requires at least a 30-day period between publication of a final rule and its effective date, “the gap allows a transition period for affected companies.”