Updated TSCA Inventory: What You Need To Know Now To Avoid Business Disruption

In 2016, after decades without any changes, Congress amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (the "TCSA") with an eye towards updating and modernizing the regulatory regime for chemical substances. One of the elements of the amendments was to require the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") to update the TSCA Inventory List, which is the list of all chemical substances that are manufactured, processed¹ or imported into the United States. Part of the update requirement was to identify which chemical substances are active in commerce or are "commercialized". In order to facilitate updating the TSCA Inventory, EPA required manufacturers and importers to report those chemicals manufactured or imported into the United States for 10-years prior to June 21, 2016. EPA also allowed processors of chemicals to report on the same lookback period. Submissions were due from parties in 2018, and EPA used the submissions to prepare and publish the initial list of "active"