On Wednesday, June 22, 2016, President Obama signed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (the Act) into law, amending the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The following provides a brief overview of changes to the Act. SGIA is in the process of developing further information on the amendment package. Please check back for additional information as we will post it as it becomes available.
Amendments to TSCA include:
- The Act repeals the requirement that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) apply the least burdensome means of adequately protecting against unreasonable risk from chemicals;
- Revises the USEPA’s authority to require the development of new information about a chemical by establishing a risk-based screening process; and
- Establishes a safety standard to ensure no unreasonable risk of harm to health or the environment will result from exposure to a chemical under the conditions of use, including the protection of potentially exposed or susceptible populations. The standard does not take cost or other non-risk factors into consideration.