The latest article from Chemical and Engineering News discusses a new proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency, which states that chemical manufacturers may have to provide reports regarding processing, productions and purpose for using their compounds every four years instead of five. Under the Toxic Substances Control Act, chemical makers must report twice yearly to the EPA in order to keep the TSCA Inventory updated. This has been the standard ever since the presidency of George W. Bush, when the EPA changed its time frame to the now recognized five year policy (Previously it was four years also). The article states:
“The proposed rule “will allow the agency to more effectively and expeditiously identify and address potential chemical risks and improve the information available to the public on chemicals most commonly used in commerce,” says Steve Owens, EPA assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety & Pollution Prevention. The agency expects to finalize the changes by mid-2011.”
In addition to these new stipulations, this proposal would also require that companies that engineer chemicals make known in advance that the data that is supplied to the EPA is confidential business information, or it could potentially be placed in the public domain. This is likely the result of the EPA administrator, Lisa P. Jackson’s recent campaign to stop unnecessary trade secret claims from some members of the chemical industry. What this means for chemical manufacturers is that it looks like it’s back to the old way of doing things, so be prepared to modify your budgets.
To read the article from Chemical and Engineering News, click here:
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