Toxic Substances Control Act Implemented in CDX
US Toxic Substances Control Act implemented in CDX
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) provides powers to the US Environmental Protection Agency EPA to regulate new and existing substances placed on the market in the US. The TSCA inventory of existing substances, provided under Section 8 of the Act, currently contains around 85,000 chemicals. The following parts of the TSCA have been implemented in CDX as new substance groups to support user’s assessment of their exposure to key parts:
Section 5(a) SNUR
Section 5(a) of the TSCA enables the EPA to issue a significant new use rule (SNUR) for a substance on the inventory where it deems there is a risk of its use resulting in exposures to, or releases of, a substance of concern. Currently around 1230 substances on the TSCA non confidential inventory are subject to SNUR procedures. A manufacturer or importer of a substance subject to an SNUR must submit a significant new use notice (SNUN) to EPA at least 90 days before they manufacture (including import), or process the chemical substance for that use. This allows the EPA to prevent any new uses of chemicals that pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment. SNURs can also be applied to substances that have been phased out of use or taken off the market to prevent them from being manufactured or imported in the future. CDX users can make use of the Where-Used Analysis function to find parts and materials containing substances belonging to this substance group in order to check that their use supported if the part is manufactured in the US.
Section 6
Section 6 of the TSCA provides the EPA with the authority to prohibit or limit the manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, use, or disposal of a chemical if EPA evaluates the risk and concludes that the chemical presents an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment. Substances found under Section 6 include asbestos, hexavalent chromium, elemental mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and certain metal working fluids. CDX users can use this new substance group to check if their products contain substances subject to Section 6 rules, and if so carry out their due diligence to check they are in compliance with the Section 6 rules for that substance and its uses.
Section 12(b) PCB
Section 12(b) of TSCA requires any person who exports or intends to export a chemical substance or mixture that is subject to certain TSCA regulations is required to notify the EPA. The EPA in turn provides information about the chemical to the importing government. This requirement does not extend to parts with the exception of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs). CDX users that export product from the US can use this substance group to identify any parts they export that contain PCBs in order to establish whether or not they have export notification requirements under Section 12(b).