U.S. EPA, Office of Toxic Substances Existing Chemicals Program, Question and Answer Summary, EPA Seminar on Industry Obligations Under TSCA (June 10, 1986) (ELR Order No. AD-483)

• Author: Carolyne R. Hathaway/William K. Rawson/Ann Claassen/Julia A. Hatcher
• Pages: 591-603

Q & A Summary From EPA Seminar on Industry Obligations Under TSCA (June 10, 1986) Page 591

Question and Answer Summary From

EPA Seminar on Industry Obligations

Under TSCA (June 10, 1986)

EPA

7/25/86

JUL 25 1986

QUESTION A ND ANSWER SUM MARY EPA

SEMINA R ON INDUSTRY OBLIGATIONS

UNDER TSC A (JUNE 10, 1986) OTS EX ISTING

CHEMICA LS PROGRAM

General/Def‌initional Questions

Question: W here can potential respondent s obtain

information on TSC A reporting and record keeping

requirements?

Answer: Resp ondents can refer to t he 700 series of

Title 40 of the Code of Federal Reg ulations (CFR) for

the text of TSCA regu lations which have been promul-

gated by EPA and published in the FEDER AL REG-

ISTER. e 700 serie s volume of 40 CFR is published

annually in t he fall and is available from the Govern-

ment Printing Oce. Section 8(a) rules a re codied in

40 CFR Parts 704 and 712; section 8(d) rules in Par t

716; section 8(c) recordkeeping requirements in Part

717; section 5(a)(2) signicant new use rule s in Part

721; section 8(a) Inventory reporti ng requirements in

Part 710; import and export requirements i n Part 707.

For information on section 8(e) statutory reporting

requirements, respondents should refer to the “State-

ment of Interpretation and Enforcement Policy; Noti-

cation of Substantial R isk,” published at 43 FR 11110,

March 16, 1978. For information on import and

export requirements under TSC A, respondents can

refer to the “Guide for Chemical Importer s/ Exporters”

(two volumes), available from the TSCA Assi stance

Oce.

In addition, respondents can refer to t he FEDER AL

REGISTER , the TSCA Chemicals-in-Progress Bul-

letin (available from the TSC A Assistance Oce of

OTS), and trade publications which tr ack regulatory

activities under TSC A. For further information on

OTS activities, or to obtai n copies of specic reg ula-

tory or other guidanc e documents, person s can call

the TSCA Assis tance Oce toll-free from outside the

Washington, D.C. area at 800- 424-9065, or locally at

202-554-1404.

Question: How are “proce ssors” of chemical sub-

stances de ned? When does a person become a

processor and t hus subject to reporting and re cord-

keeping requi rements? What about a situation

where a person controls a ll distribution of a sub-

stance ma nufactured by another  rm?

Answer: Under TSCA , a processor prepare s a chemical

substance or mix ture, after the substance or mix ture

has been manufa ctured or imported, for distribution

in commerce in one of three forms: (1) In the same

form or physical state as t hat in which the substance or

mixture wa s received by the processing rm, (2) In a

dierent form or physical state f rom that in whic h the

substance or mix ture was received by the processing

rm, or (3) As part of an ar ticle containing the chemi-

cal substanc e or mixt ure. A person becomes a proces-

sor of a chemical substa nce or mixt ure by undertaking

that “preparation” step. e denition of processing

includes repackagi ng for commercial distribution,

the manufactu re of mixtures, and the production of

articles.

If a company controls all di stribution of a substance

manufacture d by another rm, a nd that company doe s

not prepare, repackage, or other wise process the sub-

stance prior to distribution, the  rm is a distributor but

not a processor of the substance. I f any such prepara-

tion does occur, the rm is considered by E PA to be a

processor and a distr ibutor.

Persons should refer to TSCA section 3 and t he general

denition sections of speci c regulator y requirements

for denitions of key regu latory terms. e fol lowing

sections in Title 40 of the Code of Federa l Regulations

(CFR) contain denitions for some of EPA’s regulatory

actions with rega rd to exist ing chemical substances:

§§ 704.3 and 712.3 (section 8(a) reporting and record-

keeping rules); § 716.3 (section 8(d) health and safety

data rules); §§ 721.3 and (by reference) 720.3 (section

5(a)(2) signica nt new use rules (SNURs)); § 717.3

(section 8(c) recordkeeping requirements), § 707.63

(export notication requirements).

Question: W hat kinds of reporting requ irements

are anticipat ed pursuant to the forthcom ing EPA

Ground Water Strateg y?

Answer: At present OTS is de veloping a section 8(d)

regulation to gather hea lth and safety data on a num-

ber of chemicals, includ inq 16 substances adde d in

support of the Agency’s groundwater strate gy. Many

of these substance s also will be added to the upcoming

section 8(a) Comprehensive Assessment Informat ion

Rule, so that the A gency can determine the source and

rate of groundwater contaminat ion. See also t he ques-

tions and answers on sec tion 8(e) requirements, below.

Question: A re importers, distributors, a nd pro-

cessors in t he cosmetics industry e xcluded from

reporting u nder TSCA on their use of haz ardous