The Environmental Working Group (“EWG”), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, issued a report on July 21, 2016 recommending the ten chemicals it thinks should be assessed first under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

The report goes on to recommend an additional ten chemicals for early action, to be evaluated after the first ten: lead, formaldehyde, vinyl chloride, bromoform, chromium-6, styrene, arsenic, ethylbenzene, cadmium, and 1,4-dioxane.

Meanwhile, there has been chatter indicating that, to select the ten initial TSCA chemicals, EPA may draw from the 90 chemicals that EPA’s chemicals office selected for risk assessment prior to TSCA being amended last month. Liz Bowman, a spokeswoman for the American Chemistry Council, has stated: “We think that the 10 substances must be drawn from the existing TSCA Chemical Work Plan and that Work Plan substances for which EPA has had significant work underway are logical candidates for the first 10 substances under review.” EWG’s lists drew from EPA’s work plan and includes some chemicals that EPA has already begun to assess. EPA’s list of the first ten chemicals to be evaluated is due to be released by December 22, 2016, according to the statute’s deadline.  As EPA completes its evaluations, EPA must add new chemicals to the rolling list.

If you have questions concerning this or other environmental issues, please contact Megan Caldwell.