The American Cleaning Institute (ACI) is urging Congress to hold the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accountable in meeting its statutory obligations to review new chemical submissions, as required by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). ACI submitted written comments as the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee examined EPA’s TSCA implementation as part of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, during a hearing on Capitol Hill.
“ACI urges the Committee members to ensure the EPA abides by statutory obligations under TSCA for reviewing new chemicals, specifically, that the Agency still needs to meet its statutory obligation to review and make final determinations on new chemicals within 90 days,” wrote Blake Nanney, ACI director, Government Affairs. As the Committee reviews EPA’s TSCA implementation protocols, ACI asks that they consider:
• The backlog of the review process
• Delays which make the review process unpredictably and unnecessarily restrictive, and its subsequent impact on chemical innovation in the U.S.
• The impact of delaying the introduction of new products to the market
• The impact these delays have on introducing more sustainable chemistry products to the market
Read the full comments here.