EPA Prioritizes Asbestos for Review Under Newly Revised TSCA
Yesterday, EPA announced the first ten chemicals to be evaluated for their potential risk to human health and the environment under the new Toxic Substances Control Act as amended by the Frank R. Launtenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (the “Act”). As we previously reported, the Act amended TSCA on June 22, 2016, which is the first significant TSCA overhaul since its 1976 enactment. The Act specifically requires EPA to evaluate all chemicals in active commerce. The first ten chemicals selected for evaluation are:
- 1,4-Dioxane
- 1-Bromopropane
- Asbestos
- Carbon Tetrachloride
- Cyclic Aliphatic Bromide Cluster
- N-methylpyrrolidone
- Pigment Violet 29 Anthra [2,19-def:6,5,10-d’e’f] diisoquinoline-1,3,8,10(2H, 9H)-tetrone
- Trichloroethylene (commonly known as TCE)
- Tetrachloroethylene (also known as PCE, perchloroethylene or “Perc”)
EPA selected the first chemicals for evaluation from 90 chemicals previously listed on the 2014 Update to the TSCA Work Plan, with consideration given to recommendations from the public, industry, environmental groups and members of Congress. Over the next three years, EPA will analyze whether the chemicals present an “unreasonable risk to humans and the environment,” and a subsequent two years to mitigate any such risk through new regulations.
Asbestos is unique to the list in that it is not a chemical but a naturally occurring mineral that is present in varying forms with distinct characteristics. The use of asbestos in building materials was curbed in the 1980s, but concerns have continued to be raised by organizations like OSHA as to health risks posed by its ongoing use in other products. However, a 1989 EPA rule banning most asbestos-containing products was overturned by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1991. Since then, although some uses of asbestos are federally banned, and testing is required in certain circumstances, asbestos regulation has been incomplete and somewhat arbitrary (for example in specifying one percent as a demarcation for materials to be regulated). EPA’s selection of asbestos for priority evaluation may signal its intention to use its new TSCA authority to revisit the prior ban or more carefully evaluate the specific forms of asbestos most likely to pose an unreasonable risk to human health.