After the recently passed reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act, (TSCA), the US Environmental Protection Agency said it is proceeding swiftly with the fast-tracking of certain persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals, including decabromodiphenyl ethers (decaBDE), used as a flame retardant in textiles, plastics and polyurethane foam hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD), used to manufacture rubber compounds and lubricants and as a solvent; pentachlorothio-phenol (PCTP), used as a plasticizing agent for rubber; tris (4-isopropylphenyl) phosphate, used as a flame retardant in consumer products and other industrial uses, along with 2,4,6-Tris(tert-butyl)phenol, used as a fuel, oil, gasoline or lubricant additive.

The new amendments to TSCA will help bring “significant improvements” to public health as the EPA continues to take the steps necessary for its successful implementation, the environmental watchdog said. “The threats from persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals are well documented,” said Jim Jones, assistant administrator in EPA’s office of chemical safety and pollution prevention. “The new law directs us to expedite action to reduce risks for these chemicals, rather than spending more time evaluating them.”

Under the revised rules, manufacturers had until Sept. 19 2016 to request that the EPA conduct risk evaluations for the PBT chemicals on its 2014 Work Plan, as an alternative to expedited action. Requests for risk evaluations were made for two chemicals that find use in fragrance mixtures. For the remaining chemicals, the agency is obliged to take expedited action to reduce exposure as far as practicable. After it identifies where these chemicals are used and how people are exposed to them, the agency said it will move directly to propose limitations on their use. The statutory deadline for this is Jun. 22, 2019.

The EPA initially sought to ban decaBDE from 2013, but the plan ran afoul of the US Congress’s foot dragging on the TSCA revision, which was finally passed this year. Many specialty chemicals companies already had substitutes available but could not launch them without a vote on TSCA. The originally drafted legislative update carried the name "TSCA Reform 2010".

Since 2015, HBCD has been prohibited under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). It was due to be banned in Europe under REACH legislation the same year. A lobby made up of several key players, however, was able to get the deadline extended, and the ban took effect in March of this year.

By mid-December 2016– within 180 days of the new bill’s taking effect – the EPA must have started reviewing at least 10 chemicals under the new TSCA’s provisions. Within the first three and a half years, it must have 20 evaluations underway. Reviews should be completed within three years but the deadline can be extended by six months.