Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976

Toxic Substances Control Act
Long titleAn Act to regulate commerce and protect human health and the environment by requiring testing and necessary use restrictions on certain chemical substances, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)TSCA
Enacted bythe 94th United States Congress
EffectiveOctober 11, 1976
Citations
Public law94-469
Statutes at Large90 Stat. 2003
Codification
Titles amended15 U.S.C.: Commerce and Trade
U.S.C. sections created15 U.S.C. ch. 53, subch. I §§ 2601–2629
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the Senate as S. 3149 by John V. Tunney (D–CA) on March 16, 1976
  • Committee consideration by Senate Commerce, House Commerce
  • Passed the Senate on March 26, 1976 (60-13)
  • Passed the House of Representatives on August 23, 1976 (319-45, in lieu of H.R. 14032)
  • Reported by the joint conference committee on August 23, 1976; agreed to by the House of Representatives on September 28, 1976 (360-35) and by the Senate on September 28, 1976 (73-6)
  • Signed into law by President Gerald Ford on October 11, 1976
Major amendments
P.L. 99-519 (1986); P.L. 100-551 (1988); P.L. 101-637 (1990); P.L. 102-550 (1992); No Child Left Behind Act of 2002;
Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, Pub. L. 114–182 (text) (PDF) (2016)

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is a United States law, passed by the Congress in 1976 and administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that regulates chemicals not regulated by other U.S. federal statutes,[1] including chemicals already in commerce and the introduction of new chemicals.[2][3][4] When the TSCA was put into place, all existing chemicals were considered to be safe for use and subsequently grandfathered in.[5] Its three main objectives are to assess and regulate new commercial chemicals before they enter the market, to regulate chemicals already existing in 1976 that posed an "unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment", as for example PCBs, lead, mercury and radon, and to regulate these chemicals' distribution and use.[6]

Contrary to what the name implies, TSCA does not separate chemicals into categories of toxic and non-toxic. Rather it prohibits the manufacture or importation of chemicals that are not on the TSCA Inventory or subject to one of many exemptions. Chemicals listed on the inventory are referred to as "existing chemicals", while chemicals not listed are referred to as new chemicals.[7] The act defines the term "chemical substance" as "any organic or inorganic substance of a particular molecular identity, including any combination of these substances occurring in whole or in part as a result of a chemical reaction or occurring in nature, and any element or uncombined radical"[8] although TSCA excludes chemicals regulated by other federal statutes from the definition of a chemical substance.[9]

Generally, manufacturers must submit premanufacturing notification to EPA prior to manufacturing or importing new chemicals for commerce. Exceptions include foods, food additives, drugs, cosmetics or devices regulated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, pesticides regulated by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, tobacco and tobacco products regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, substances used only in small quantities for research and development under Section 5(h)(3),[10][11] and radioactive materials and wastes regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. EPA reviews new chemical notifications and if it finds an "unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment", it may regulate the substance from limiting uses or production volume to outright banning it. In 2016, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act was the first major overhaul in many years.[12]

  1. ^ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). "Chemical substance." Compilation of the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory. Code of Federal Regulations, 40 CFR 710.3
  2. ^ "Learn About the Toxic Substances Control Act". EPA. October 4, 2024.
  3. ^ Auer, Charles, Frank Kover, James Aidala, Marks Greenwood. “Toxic Substances: A Half Century of Progress.” EPA Alumni Association. March 2016.
  4. ^ Hanson, David J. (January 15, 2007). "Those Were The Days". Chemical & Engineering News. 85 (3). American Chemical Society. doi:10.1021/cen-v085n003.p044.
  5. ^ Trasande, Leonardo (April 19, 2016). "Updating the Toxic Substances Control Act to Protect Human Health". JAMA. 315 (15): 1565–6. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.2037. PMID 26974705.
  6. ^ "Summary of the Toxic Substances Control Act". EPA. September 9, 2024.
  7. ^ "About the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory". EPA. June 3, 2024.
  8. ^ Speight, James G. (2016). "3.9 Toxic Substances Control Act". Environmental Organic Chemistry for Engineers. Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 380. ISBN 9780128006689.
  9. ^ New TSCA : a guide to the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act and its implementation. Lynn L. Bergeson, Charles M. Auer, Energy, and Resources American Bar Association. Section of Environment. Chicago, Illinois. 2017. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-63425-833-3. OCLC 980346853.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. ^ "Is a Filing Necessary for My Chemical?". EPA. July 29, 2013. Archived from the original on December 13, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  11. ^ "Research and Development Exemption for New Chemical Review under TSCA". EPA. December 31, 2024.
  12. ^ United States. Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. Pub. L. 114–182 (text) (PDF) Approved June 22, 2016.
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