EPA announced in June the creation of its new Chemical Safety
Advisory Committee (CSAC), established under the Federal Advisory
Committee Act, and is seeking nominations for members. The
CSAC will render "expert scientific advice, information and
recommendations to the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics on
the scientific basis for risk assessments, methodologies, and
pollution prevention measures or approaches." The
primary risk assessment work of the Office of Pollution Prevention
and Toxics (OPPT) is its review under the Toxic Substances Control
Act (TSCA) of 83 chemicals which it has prioritized for risk
assessment for toxicity, persistence and consumer exposure.
The creation of CSAC on the heels of EPA's April release of a
draft scoping and screening document for 1,4-dioxane indicates that
the Agency may be formalizing a process for expediting chemical
reviews. The new approach is supported by the American
Chemistry Council (ACC), which is "very
