WSP alerts US industry to EPA chemical update | 1st Dec 2010

On November 26, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule to add 16 chemicals to the list of toxic chemicals subject to reporting under the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Program. 

The TRI program, established under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) in 1986, requires EPA and the states to collect data annually on releases and transfers of certain toxic chemicals from regulated facilities and make that data available to the public. 

WSP advises that businesses that manufacture, process or otherwise use any of these 16 chemicals should evaluate whether they are subject to additional TRI reporting requirements.  Affected facilities should begin collecting annual release data in January 2011. Industry sectors likely to be impacted include manufacturers of organic chemical dyes, pigments, plastics and resins and petroleum refineries.

Each chemical that the EPA is adding has been classified as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen" by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) in their Report on Carcinogens (RoC) document.  Based on available studies the EPA has concluded that these 16 chemicals could cause cancer in humans and therefore meet the EPCRA section 313(d)(2)(B) statutory listing criteria. This is the first expansion in a decade of the TRI chemical program and reflects the EPA's ongoing efforts to examine the scope of TRI chemical coverage and provide greater information on toxic chemical releases. 

For a full list of the added chemicals please download our briefing factsheet.

WSP Environment & Energy's team of compliance specialists in North America average more than 10 years of industry experience with environmental reporting, third-party compliance audits, and interactions with regulators on behalf of our clients in environmental, health and safety matters and can advise on this final rule or the EPA's TRI Program.

Contact: brooke.dillon@wspgroup.com