Fifth Circuit Vacates EPA's Methylene Chloride Risk Management Rule Under TSCA

Highlights

• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently vacated the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) methylene chloride risk management rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in East Fork Enterprises, Inc. v. EPA, finding that errors of law occurred and substantial evidence did not support EPA's decision.
• The court held that TSCA requires EPA to issue separate risk determinations for each condition of use of a chemical substance, rejecting EPA's "whole chemical" approach, and also found that EPA violated TSCA by assuming that workers do not use personal protective equipment when making determinations of unreasonable risk.
• The court concluded that EPA's occupational exposure limits were not based on the best available science and that EPA regulated beyond the extent necessary to address unreasonable risk.