• LCSA includes a provision under TSCA section 6(h) requiring EPA to take expedited action on specific PBT chemicals to address risk and reduce exposures to the extent practicable.

Persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals are those that build up in the environment over time and can therefore have potential risks for exposed populations, including the general population, consumers and commercial users, and susceptible subpopulations (such as workers, subsistence fishers, tribes, and children).

TSCA actions related to PBT chemical substances

The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (LCSA), enacted on June 22, 2016, includes a provision under Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) section 6(h) requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take expedited action on specific PBT chemicals to address risk and reduce exposures to the extent practicable.

EPA identified five PBT chemicals for expedited action in 2016, following criteria outlined in section 6(h) and issued final rules on January 6, 2021, which added regulations to 40 CFR 751 Subpart E. Pursuant to the statute, no risk evaluation was required for these chemicals:

• Decabromodiphenyl ether (DecaBDE)
• Phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1))
• 2,4,6-Tris(tert-butyl)phenol (2,4,6-TTBP)
• Hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD)
• Pentachlorothiophenol (PCTP)

However, in September 2021, EPA announced its intent to initiate a new rulemaking and anticipates proposing new rules for all five of the above PBT chemicals that are the subject of final risk management rules under TSCA. EPA explained that it was considering revising all five of the final rules to further reduce exposures, promote environmental justice, and better protect human health and the environment.

EPA took final action on September 17, 2021, to extend the compliance dates for the prohibitions on processing and distribution and the associated recordkeeping requirement of one of these PBT chemicals, phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)) until March 8, 2022. This final rule was effective upon publication. Additionally, on March 8, 2022, EPA issued a final rule further extending the compliance dates until October 31, 2024, for the prohibitions on PIP (3:1) when used in certain articles. This final rule was effective upon publication.

Note that on November 24, 2023, EPA proposed modifications to the regulations of decaBDE and PIP (3:1). The agency explains the proposal, if finalized, addresses risk and reduces exposures to humans and the environment to these PBT chemicals to the extent practicable. In the proposed rule, EPA said that it was not proposing to revise the existing regulations for the other three PBT chemicals (2,4,6-TTBP, HCBD, and PCTP) at that time.