TSCA Notification Deadline Approaching: Manufacturers Must Report on Their Chemical Usage by February 7, 2018

Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the EPA is conducting a Chemical Prioritization Process to aid the EPA in determining which chemicals being manufactured or processed in the United States need to be prioritized for risk evaluation. These risk evaluations will be used to regulate chemicals that are determined to be a safety hazard to people or the environment. The first step of this process requires EPA to designate chemical substances on the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory as either “active” or “inactive” in U.S. commerce. “Active” chemicals will then go through the risk evaluation process, while “inactive” chemicals will no longer be able to be legally manufactured or processed.  Companies (or individuals) must notify the EPA of any chemicals they have manufactured or processed in the United States over the preceding 10 years ending June 21, 2016; this includes imports. The rule requires that manufacturers provide chemical identity information and indicate whether they are seeking to maintain a confidentiality claim on the chemical. Any chemical substance that has been manufactured for non-exempt commercial purposes during the 10-year period preceding June 21, 2016 need to be registered. Exclusions include naturally occurring substances and mixtures. Anyone who manufactures a chemical, whether manufactured in the United States or imported, must report. Processors may choose to report but are not required to do so under this rule. The retrospective reporting period for manufacturers begins on August 11, 2017, and ends on February 7, 2018. The submission period for processors also begins on August 11, 2017, but processors have until October 5, 2018, to submit retrospective activity notifications. Following this, manufacturers or processors may submit forward-looking electronic notification if they wish to begin manufacturing or processing a chemical that has been designated as “inactive”. Filing will be handled electronically through the EPA’s Chemical Information Submission System (CISS) tool available in the EPA’s CDX available at https://cdx.epa.gov/ . There are two forms available on the CISS tool for reporting under this rule. The first is Notice of Activity Form A, which is the form used for retrospective reporting of chemicals. The second form is Notice of Activity Form B, which will be used to submit forward-looking reports. A manufacturer can continue to process a chemical substance up until the point the EPA designates that chemical as inactive. Further processing of that chemical for a non-exempt commercial purpose after that time is prohibited, unless an NOA form B is submitted to indicate the intent to proceed with processing of that chemical. Additional information regarding TSCA Reform under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21^st Century Act can be found at www.epa.gov. If you need help determining if you need to register a chemical substance, please contact the SGIA Government Relations Department. To see if a chemical has already been reported on, visit the ACC's CDX Receipt Database. Sign up to recieve the most up-to-date regulatory and legislative information about specialty imaging.