On March 30, EPA has informed about the new evaluation procedure for the upcoming new chemicals which are expected to be placed on the market shortly. The proposed switch will analyze the full conditions use of new chemicals rather than an existing analysis which only focuses on the current intended usage or information only for limited applications.

The expansion of analysis is to identify the unreasonable risks associated with the new chemicals. By predicting the full utilization of chemicals, necessary PPE and hazard communication could be directed to the workers at the right moment.

Under the former administration, the new chemicals were commonly justified and approved without addressing the risks of potential future uses of chemicals by issuing what is known as a significant new use rule.

By impact, unless a company tells the EPA it will use a chemical in that way, risks evaluation on the potential future use of chemicals would be discontinued. As a result, the agency will no longer rely on SNURs (significant new use rule) to exclude reasonably foreseen uses from its evaluation of new substances.

Under the proposed rule, considering about one or more uses may present an unreasonable risk or when there is a lack of information needed to make a safety finding, there will be an order issued to address those potential risks.

As a result, EPA will ensure that new chemicals do not pose a risk to workers when we identify potential unreasonable risks to workers that could be addressed with appropriate personal protective equipment and hazard communication.

However, the American Chemistry Council which represents the chemical industry is concerned that the changes will lead to delays in getting new chemicals onto the market. On the other hand, Environmental groups welcome the changes. “By taking these steps, EPA will reverse the illegal and unprotective method the prior procedure applied to hundreds of new chemicals over the last several years.

Reference: https://www.epa.gov/chemicals-under-tsca/important-updates-epas-tsca-new-chemicals-program