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February 20, 2019

EPA Releases Update to TSCA Inventory; Schedules Webinar

Lynn L. Bergeson Carla N. Hutton

On February 19, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it was releasing an update to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory listing the chemicals that are actively being manufactured, processed and imported in the United States, which is required under amended TSCA.  Some of the highlights from EPA’s announcement are:

  • A key result of the update is that less than half of the total number of chemicals on the current TSCA Inventory (47 percent or 40,655 of the 86,228 chemicals) are currently in commerce; EPA states that this information will help it focus risk evaluation efforts on chemicals that are still on the market.
  • As recently as 2018, the TSCA Inventory showed over 86,000 chemicals available for commercial production and use in the U.S.  Until this update, EPA states that it was not known which of these chemicals on the TSCA Inventory were actually in commerce.
  • More than 80 percent (32,898) of the chemicals in commerce have identities that are not Confidential Business Information (CBI), increasing public access to additional information about them.  
  • For the less than 20 percent of the chemicals in commerce that have confidential identities, EPA states that it is developing a rule outlining how it will review and substantiate all CBI claims seeking to protect the specific chemical identities of substances on the confidential portion of the TSCA Inventory. 
  • From August 11, 2017, through October 5, 2018, chemical manufacturers and processors provided information on which chemicals were manufactured, imported or processed in the U.S. over the past ten years, the period ending June 21, 2016.  EPA received more than 90,000 responses, a significant reporting effort by manufacturers, importers and processors.

Look for our memorandum on this important development tomorrow; it will be posted to our Regulatory Developments webpage.  

On March 13, 2019, EPA will host a webinar to assist manufacturers (including importers) and processors with future reporting requirements.  Under the final TSCA Inventory notification (active-inactive) rule, a substance is not designated as an “inactive substance” until 90 days after EPA publishes the initial version of the Inventory with all listings identified as active or inactive.  EPA states that manufacturers and processors should be aware that if there is a substance that is listed as “inactive” that is currently being manufactured or processed, they have 90 days to file a Notice of Activity (NOA) Form B so that they can continue their current activity.  Manufacturers and processors that intend to manufacture or process an “inactive” substance in the future must submit an NOA Form B before they start their activity.

The webinar is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (EDT) on Wednesday, March 13, 2019.  The webinar will include an overview of filing a NOA Form B, a demonstration of the electronic reporting application, and time for questions and answers.  Registration for the webinar is not required.

More information about the TSCA Inventory update and the webinar is available on EPA’s TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory webpage.