Significant New Use Rules on Certain Chemical Substances (26-3)
Key claim: EPA is proposing TSCA significant new use rules that would require 90-day advance notification before anyone manufactures or processes certain PMN chemical substances for designated significant new uses.
Abstract
(Proposed Rule · Environmental Protection Agency) EPA is proposing significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for certain chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMNs) and are also subject to an Order issued by EPA pursuant to TSCA. Once finalized, the SNURs would require persons who intend to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or process any of these chemical substances for an activity that is proposed as a significant new use by this rulemaking to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing that activity. The required notification initiates EPA’s evaluation of the conditions of that use for that chemical substance. In addition, the manufacture or processing for the significant new use may not commence until EPA has conducted a review of the required notification, made an appropriate determination regarding that notification, and taken such actions as required by that determination.
Why this matters
SNURs are EPA’s primary tool for locking in the exposure and use conditions established through PMN review and Section 5(e) consent orders, extending those constraints to any manufacturer or processor — not just the original submitter. Practically, the 90-day notification window imposes compliance and commercialization costs on new entrants while giving EPA a chance to screen novel uses for health and environmental risks before market entry. This proposed rule is routine follow-on chemical control, but it incrementally expands the universe of TSCA-restricted substances.