by Jbs012210c3 — January 27, 2010—As part of a commitment to strengthen and reform chemical management, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 21 a policy to increase the public’s access to information on chemicals. EPA intends to reject a certain type of confidentiality claim, known as Confidential Business Information (CBI), on the identity of chemicals.
The chemicals that will be affected by this action are those that are submitted to EPA with studies that show a substantial risk to people’s health and the environment and have been previously disclosed on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Inventory. This action represents another step to use the agency’s authority under the existing TSCA to the fullest extent possible, recognizing EPA’s strong belief that the 1976 law is outdated and in need of reform.
Under Section 8(e) of TSCA, companies that manufacture, process, or distribute chemicals are required to immediately provide notice to EPA if they learn that a chemical presents a substantial risk of injury to health or the environment. The reports are made available on EPA’s Web site. However, companies have routinely claimed confidentiality for the actual identity of the chemical, says EPA. The new policy will grant the public access to the chemical identification information submitted, along with other health and safety data under Section 8(e).
In the coming months, EPA intends to announce additional steps to further increase transparency of chemical information.
