AFPM: Congress has a critical opportunity to make necessary fixes to TSCA

“AFPM welcomes the Energy and Commerce Committee’s draft legislation reauthorising TSCA fees and making needed updates to the law. A decade of experience with previous reforms has clearly demonstrated that the law could be better crafted to manage risk while ensuring innovative chemicals needed for modern society are available and produced here in the United States. We look forward to reviewing the draft text and engaging Congress as this process continues.”

In 2026, Congress will be asked to reauthorise the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) ability to collect fees from companies subject to TSCA. AFPM believes that Congress should take this opportunity to make five essential reforms:

1. Require EPA to assess risk based on real-world exposure conditions. Focus EPA reviews on how a chemical is likely to be used in a specific, real-world situation. Direct the agency to base any necessary regulations meant to manage risks on practical considerations, including unintended consequences of blocking a chemical’s use.
2. Enforce TSCA new chemical and new use review deadlines. If EPA does not make a decision or ask for more information within the review timeline set in the statute, new chemicals and uses should not be held hostage.
3. Streamline the universe of chemicals subject to TSCA review. Exempt 'impurities' and 'byproducts', which occur in low-to-negligible concentrations, from individual TSCA risk evaluations and risk management actions.
4. Waive TSCA reviews for chemicals equivalent to those already in commerce. EPA should not require new reviews for chemicals indistinguishable from those already on the TSCA Inventory. They are fundamentally the same chemical, even if manufactured differently.
5. Require EPA to acknowledge and defer to other regulating agencies and policies in TSCA reviews. EPA should not ignore other federal authorities and policies (e.g., OSHA or the Risk Management Program) when assessing chemical risk and potential new regulation.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/the-environment/20012026/afpm-congress-has-a-critical-opportunity-to-make-necessary-fixes-to-tsca/