Toxic Substances

Under a broad range of federal statutes, EPA gathers health, safety and exposure data, requires necessary testing, and controls human and environmental exposures for numerous chemical substances and mixtures. EPA regulates the production and distribution of commercial and industrial chemicals in order to ensure that chemicals made available for sale and use in the United States do not harm human health or the environment.

Read more at Pollution Prevention and Toxics.

Topics:

• Chemicals and Hazardous Substances
• Formaldehyde
• Nanotechnology
• Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
• Toxic Release Inventory

See also:

• Emergencies
• Land and Cleanup
• Waste

Chemicals and Hazardous Substances
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) addresses the manufacturing, processing, distribution, use, and disposal of commercial and industrial chemicals.  The Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) establishes pollution prevention as the national policy for controlling industrial pollution at its source.  The Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration regulates the transport of hazardous materials.

Read more about chemical reporting, oil spills, and community right-to-know at Emergencies.

• Laws and Regulations
  • Chemical Data Reporting Rule (CDR): to collect quality screening-level, exposure-related information on chemical substances and to make that information available for use by EPA and, to the extent possible, to the public.
  • Existing Chemicals: programs address pollution prevention, risk assessment, hazard and exposure assessment and characterization, and risk management for chemical substances in commercial use.
  • Good Laboratory Practices Standards: ensuring the quality and integrity of test data submitted to the Agency.
  • New Chemicals: Mandated by section 5 of the 1976 TSCA, this program helps manage the potential risk to human health and the environment from chemicals new to the marketplace.
  • Pollution Prevention Laws and Policy
• Compliance
  • Core TSCA Compliance Monitoring: Information about inspections, evaluations and investigations for new and existing chemicals.
  • Importing and Exporting Chemical Substances
  • TSCA Import and Export Requirements
• Enforcement
  • Waste, Chemicals and Cleanup Enforcement: Chemical Enforcement 
• Policy and Guidance
  • New Chemicals Program Policies
  • New Chemicals – Guidance Materials for PMN Submitters

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Formaldehyde
See Formaldehyde Emissions from Pressed Wood Products.

Nanotechnology
See Cross-Cutting Issues: Nanotechnology

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
Although no longer commercially produced in the United States, PCBs may be present in products and materials produced before the 1979 PCB ban.  EPA regulates the management, cleanup and disposal of PCB wastes and the management of PCB-containing materials and equipment still in use.

• Laws and Regulations
  • Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs): Laws and Regulations
• Compliance
  • Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Compliance Monitoring: Information about inspections, evaluations and investigations.

Toxic Release Inventory
The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Section 313 requires EPA and the states to collect data annually on releases and transfers of certain toxic chemicals from industrial facilities and make the data available to the public in the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI).

• Laws and Regulations
  • TRI Laws, Regulations and Notices 
• Compliance
  • Reporting Forms and Instructions 
• Enforcement
  • TRI Program Enforcement
• Policy and Guidance
  • Reporting Forms and Instructions: Guidance Documents

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