• EPA has the authority to require manufacturers (including importers) and processors of chemical substances and mixtures to conduct testing on the health and environmental effects of chemical substances and mixtures.

Under section 4 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to require manufacturers (including importers) and processors of chemical substances and mixtures to conduct testing on the health and environmental effects of chemical substances and mixtures.

A person who imports or intends to import a chemical substance or mixture subject to a test rule under section 4 must comply with section 4 requirements unless the importation qualifies for an exemption included in the regulations at 40 CFR 790.42, or under a specific test rule listed under 40 CFR 766 or 799.

Following promulgation of a test rule under section 4, the responsibility to comply with the rule continues for a period of five years from the date the data from all required tests have been submitted or an amount of time equal to that which was required to develop the test data, whichever is longer. Importers therefore have a continuing responsibility to determine whether a chemical substance or mixture which they import or intend to import is subject to a test rule.