EPA Posts Its First Four Section 5(a) Determination Letters Under the Amended TSCA

On Friday, July 22, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted the first four Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 5(a) determinations made following review of pre-manufacture notifications (PMN) according to TSCA as amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century law, Pub. L. No. 114-182 (Lautenberg).  EPA’s determination on all four chemical substances was “not likely to present and unreasonable risk,” under new TSCA Section 5(a)(C)(3).  The PMN Case Numbers, Chemical Identities, a summary of the determination, the decision dates, as well as the links to the determinations themselves are below.  The review start date for all of these determinations was the date of Lautenberg’s enactment, June 22, 2016.  Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is reviewing these determinations and will provide an analysis.

• P-16-0281:  Generic: Fatty Alcohols-Dimers, Trimers, Polymers.  EPA determined that “[t]he chemical substance is not likely to present an unreasonable risk based on low health hazard concern and low environmental toxicity.”  The decision was issued on July 15, 2016.
• P-16-0292:  Generic: Depolymerized Waste Plastics.  EPA determined that “[t] he chemical substance is not likely to present an unreasonable risk based on low human health hazard and low environmental hazard.  Although EPA estimated that the new chemical substance would be very persistent, this did not indicate a likelihood that the chemical substance would present an unreasonable risk, given that the chemical substance has low potential for bioaccumulation, low human health hazard, and low environmental hazard.”  The decision was issued on July 20, 2016.
• P-16-0301: Generic:  Propyl Silsesquioxanes, Hydrogen-Terminated.  EPA determined that “[t]he chemical substance is not likely to present an unreasonable risk based on low human health hazard and low environmental hazard.”  The decision was issued on July 20, 2016.
• P-16-0302:  Generic:  Organic Modified Propyl Silsesquioxane.  EPA determined that “[t]he chemical substance is not likely to present an unreasonable risk based on low human health hazard and low environmental toxicity. Although EPA estimated that the new chemical substance would be very persistent, this did not indicate likelihood that the chemical substance would present an unreasonable risk, given that the chemical substance has low potential for bioaccumulation,