The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is a United States law, passed by the 94th United States Congress in 1976 and administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that regulates chemicals not regulated by other U.S. federal statutes, including chemicals already in commerce and the introduction of new chemicals. When the TSCA was put into place, all existing chemicals were considered to be safe for use and subsequently grandfathered in. Its three main objectives are to assess and regulate new commercial chemicals before they enter the market, to regulate chemicals already existing in 1976 that posed an "unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment", as for example PCBs, lead, mercury and radon, and to regulate these chemicals' distribution and use.
Contrary to what the name implies, TSCA does not separate chemicals into categories of toxic and non-toxic. Rather it prohibits the manufacture or importation of chemicals that are not on the TSCA Inventory or subject to one of many exemptions. Chemicals listed on the TSCA inventory are referred to as "existing chemicals", while chemicals not listed are referred to as new chemicals. The TSCA defines the term "chemical substance" as "any organic or inorganic substance of a particular molecular identity, including any combination of these substances occurring in whole or in part as a result of a chemical reaction or occurring in nature, and any element or uncombined radical" although TSCA excludes chemicals regulated by other federal statutes from the definition of a chemical substance.
Generally, manufacturers must submit premanufacturing notification to EPA prior to manufacturing or importing new chemicals for commerce. Exceptions include foods, food additives, drugs, cosmetics or devices regulated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, pesticides regulated by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, tobacco and tobacco products regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, substances used only in small quantities for research and development under Section 5(h)(3), and radioactive materials and wastes regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. EPA reviews new chemical notifications and if it finds an "unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment," it may regulate the substance from limiting uses or production volume to outright banning it. In 2016, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act was the first major overhaul in many years.
Overview
The Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 mandated the EPA to protect the public from "unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment" by regulating the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, sale, and disposal of chemicals. This act does not address pollution, which is regulated through the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Instead, like FIFRA (the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act), TSCA regulates commercial products. The act gave the EPA the authority to gather information on and require manufacturers (and importers) to test products, required the EPA to create a listing of existing chemicals and the industry to notify EPA of new chemicals being produced, and gave the EPA the ability to regulate chemical production and use. For example, EPA banned the use of methylene chloride in consumer paint and coating removal products.
The types of chemicals regulated by the act fall into two broad categories: existing and new. The distinction is made because the act regulates the two categories of chemicals in different ways. Existing chemicals include any chemical currently listed on the TSCA Inventory under TSCA section 8(b). New chemicals are defined as "any chemical substance which is not included in the chemical substance list compiled and published under section 8(b)." This list included all chemical substances manufactured or imported into the United States prior to December 1979, which covered 99% of the EPA's mandate in the bill, including some 8,800 chemicals imported or produced at quantities above 10,000 pounds.
Sections
The TSCA is found in United States law at Title 15 of the United States Code, Chapter 53, and administered by EPA.