EPA Will Hold Webinar on Proposed Risk Management Rule for Carbon Tetrachloride

On August 15, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a webinar on its proposed rule to protect workers from exposure to carbon tetrachloride (CTC).  EPA published the proposed rule on July 28, 2023. 88 Fed. Reg. 49180. EPA states that if issued in final, “the rule would require a workplace chemical protection program with strict exposure limits for essentially the entire domestic production volume of CTC, workplace controls for laboratory use of CTC, and a ban on uses of CTC that the Agency determined have already ceased.” According to EPA, the proposed workplace safety measures would require employers and others covered by the plan to comply with safety requirements within one year of the final rule’s effective date. They would also be required to monitor their workplace periodically to ensure that workers and others on site are not being exposed to levels of CTC that would lead to an unreasonable risk. Comments on the proposed rule are due September 11, 2023. EPA notes that under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), comments on the information collection provisions are best ensured of consideration if the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) receives a copy of the comments on or before August 28, 2023.
 
The webinar will provide an overview of the proposed regulatory action and will give the public an opportunity to provide input on the proposal, including industry groups, nonprofit organizations, state and local governments, Tribes, and other stakeholders. EPA states that it is “particularly interested in hearing from stakeholders who can provide their perspective on the feasibility and efficacy of the proposed requirements for their workplaces.”
 
Participants can register as listeners or to make prepared remarks. To provide remarks during the webinar, registration is due by August 10, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. (EDT). Stakeholders can register to listen until August 14, 2023, the day before the webinar. Registration is open. More information on the proposed rule is available in our July 26, 2023, memorandum.