TSCA: Smarter Regulations. Safer Chemistries. A Stronger America.

Challenge: Reviews of new chemicals have been plagued by delays, lack of transparency, and conservative assumptions that do not reflect actual conditions of use.

Solutions:

• Reinforce the 90-day statutory deadlines to review new chemistries and discourage repeated suspensions.
• Improve EPA communications with stakeholders during review to clarify data needs early.
• Require EPA to consider actual exposures and intended use when assessing potential risks.
• Clarify that “reasonably foreseen uses” must be supported by credible, concrete evidence.

Challenge: Risk evaluations have too often relied on default assumptions and worst-case scenarios, diverging from TSCA’s mandate for science-based, risk-based decision-making.

Solutions:

• Reaffirm TSCA’s requirement to consider actual conditions of use and existing exposure controls.
• Encourage consistent, transparent application of the weight-of-the-evidence approach.
• Base prioritization on available hazard, use, and exposure data—not speculation.
• Allow for greater input from stakeholders during the scoping and evaluation phases.

Challenge: Companies have faced uncertainty about protection of legitimate CBI claims, especially when submitting data to EPA voluntarily or as part of collaborative industry efforts or consortia.

Solutions:

• Provide greater clarity and consistency in the treatment of CBI claims.
• Reinforce statutory protections for confidential formulations, supply chain relationships, and customer data.

Challenge: EPA has the authority to require companies to report data on chemical production, use, and safety. But current implementation is often burdensome, inconsistent, and disconnected from actual risk. Recent proposals have expanded reporting obligations without clear alignment to EPA’s priorities or consideration of cost and feasibility.

Solutions:

• Target reporting to chemical substances that support EPA’s risk evaluation priorities
• Streamline requirements to eliminate duplication and reduce confusion
• Provide flexibility for low-risk, low-volume, and R&D substances
• Modernize EPA’s reporting systems for efficiency and effectiveness
• Ensure new rulemakings are practical, cost-effective, and informed by stakeholder input

Challenge: EPA’s implementation of TSCA often has not aligned with the law’s mandated standards for scientific integrity, transparency, and objectivity.

Solutions:

• Reaffirm use of the best available science and weight-of-the-scientific-evidence standards in all decisions.
• Promote peer review and public access to underlying data where appropriate.
• Base regulatory decisions on real-world data, not worst-case defaults.

Challenge: TSCA user fees have increased while EPA has missed statutory deadlines and provided little to no transparency into how funds are being utilized

Solution:

• Link fees to EPA performance — timely reviews, transparency, and statutory compliance
• Require regular public reporting on TSCA user fee expenditures and program performance
• Ensure that industry is not charged twice for the same work (e.g., under both TSCA and other statutes)
• Adjust the fee structure to reflect actual costs, improve fairness, and support efficient implementation of TSCA.