/>iAs the Biden Administration comes to a close, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has banned two commonly used chemicals under the 2016 Lautenberg Amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
On December 9, EPA finalized risk management rules for two solvents under TSCA on the grounds that they were carcinogenic. Trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE), the chemicals targeted by the rules, are used in cleaners, lubricants, sealants, adhesives, and paints throughout a variety of commercial applications. Both chemicals are known to cause a variety of cancers and damage in both the immune and reproductive systems.
The rules constitute a total ban on TCE over time, with the “vast majority of identified risks eliminated within one year,” while PCE is banned for “all consumer uses and many commercial uses, while allowing some workplace uses to continue only where robust workplace controls can be implemented,” as EPA stated in its press release announcing the bans.
For the TCE ban, EPA landed on a phaseout period longer than one year for only a limited number of uses in the workplace. This includes strict worker safety requirements in mostly highly industrialized settings, where EPA estimates its new stringent worker protections can be adopted. Notably, all uses of TCE — even the ones subject to a longer phaseout — will ultimately be prohibited.
The PCE ban is narrower, with most uses of the chemical expected to be fully phased out within three years. EPA’s analysis found alternative products with similar costs and efficacy for most of the prohibited uses. EPA is also finalizing a ten-year phaseout for the use of PCE in dry cleaning, with a complete prohibition on uses of PCE in newly acquired dry cleaning machines after six months. The rule also finalizes “stringent, achievable controls for continuing uses” in a variety of “highly sophisticated” industries and workplaces, including petrochemical manufacturing, agricultural chemical manufacturing, and chemical milling.
EPA plans to release compliance guidance for the rules in the coming months. It will also be critical to keep an eye out for court challenges to these rules. Stay tuned for more developments.
