ACC challenges regulators on chemical management

The American Chemistry Council (ACC), the main trade body of the chemicals industry in the US, has issued a ‘9 in 9 Challenge’ to Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These challenges arise from the revision of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in 2016.

The association is asking for action over the first nine months of 2023 to revise nine key policies, which, it says, are “weakening US chemicals management and the solutions to correct these problems”. They include:

* Fulfilling TSCA’s statutory obligations and meeting programme deadlines

* Demonstrating responsible fiscal management and substantiating TSCA fee increases

* Requiring real-world data in risk evaluations

* Making chemical safety determinations for each condition of use *

Incorporating existing workplace safety guidelines in occupational risk determinations

* Accelerating the pace and timeliness of New Chemical reviews

* Improving transparency and objectivity in peer review

According to ACC, obstacles are still preventing the EPA fully implementing the amendments laid down then. It also called on Congress to “exercise its oversight authority and demand EPA to explain to lawmakers why the TSCA programme continues to fail at achieving its statutory objectives and deadlines”. “

Over the last two years, the TSCA programme has been plagued by constant delays and a lack of transparency in how resources are being deployed,” said Dr Kimberly Wise White (above), the ACC’s VP of regulatory and scientific affairs. “Six years since the bipartisan Lautenberg Amendments became law, the TSCA programme remains in need of repair.”

This follows on from the release of the ACC’s first ‘State of TSCA Report’ in May 2022, identifying six key challenges and offering solutions. In October, it followed up with a ‘State of TSCA Progress Report’, grading the EPA on its progress in correcting these issues.