EPA Eyes 20 Chemicals for High Priority Risk Evaluation, ACC Responds

Aug 23rd, 2019

Rachel Grabenhofer

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing 20 chemicals be designated as 'high priority' for risk evaluation, and is seeking comments. The American Chemistry Council (ACC) responded with plans to review data on these chemicals to provide formal comments.

According to the U.S. Federal Register notice: "As required under section 6(b) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and implementing regulations, EPA is proposing to designate 20 chemical substances as High-Priority Substances for risk evaluation. This document and supporting docket materials identify the proposed designation for each of the chemical substances and instructions on how to access the chemical-specific information, analysis and basis used by EPA to support the proposed designation for each chemical substance.

"EPA is providing a 90-day comment period during which interested persons may provide comments on the proposed designations of High-Priority Substances for risk evaluation." Comments must be received on or before Nov. 21, 2019; contacts for each material are listed on the EPA website.

High Priority Substances of Interest

The 20 substances of interest are as follows, including some cosmetic ingredients:

p-Dichlorobenzene
1,2-Dichloroethane
trans-1,2- Dichloroethylene
o-Dichlorobenzene
1,1,2-Trichloroethane
1,2-Dichloropropane
1,1-Dichloroethane
Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) (1,2-Benzene- dicarboxylic acid, 1,2- dibutyl ester)
Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) - 1,2-Benzene- dicarboxylic acid, 1- butyl 2(phenylmethyl) ester
Di-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) - (1,2-Benzene- dicarboxylic acid, 1,2- bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester)
Di-isobutyl phthalate (DIBP) - (1,2-Benzene- dicarboxylic acid, 1,2- bis-(2methylpropyl) ester)
Dicyclohexyl phthalate
4,4'-(1-Methylethylidene)bis[2, 6-dibromophenol] (TBBPA)
Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP)
Phosphoric acid, triphenyl ester (TPP)
Ethylene dibromide
1,3-Butadiene
1,3,4,6,7,8-Hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexamethylcyclopenta [g]-2-benzopyran (HHCB)
Formaldehyde
Phthalic anhydride

ACC Response

The ACC issued the following statement regarding EPA’s proposal: “ACC will analyze the EPA-proposed 20 high priority chemicals and their supporting information and submit formal comments. As EPA moves forward through the prioritization process, it must base its work on the best available science and weight of the evidence as required under Section 26 of TSCA.

“The prioritization process is a new feature of the amended TSCA, and EPA has made it clear that neither a proposed nor final designation of a chemical as a high priority substance constitutes a finding of unreasonable risk. The proposed designation simply means the agency has nominated the chemical as a high priority for a TSCA risk evaluation, and a final designation would initiate the risk evaluation process. It is in the risk evaluation process that EPA must determine whether the chemical presents an unreasonable risk under its conditions of use.

“ACC strongly supported the 2016 amendments to TSCA that established the requirement that EPA identify high priorities for risk evaluation. The agency has an excellent track record of meeting the deadlines established by Congress. Successful implementation of TSCA in accordance with the statute and congressional intent is essential to ensuring protections for human health and the environment while enabling our industry to continue to innovate, create jobs and grow the economy.”

Low Priority Substances of Interest

In addition to high priority substances of interest, the EPA named 20 substances of low priority interest, which do not warrant a risk evaluation at this time but are worth noting. Comments for these materials must be received on or before Nov. 13, 2019; contact details are provided on the Federal Register website.