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Section 21 Petitions Filed with EPA Since September 2007
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- Natural Rubber in Tires
- Lead Dust Hazard Standard and Definition of Lead-based Paint
- Lead Wheel Weights
- Formaldehyde
- Natural Rubber Latex Adhesives
- Air Fresheners
Natural Rubber in Tires
On November 19, 2009, EPA received a petition, currently under review, asking it to prohibit the use and distribution in commerce of allergenic “Hevea brasiliensis baled natural-rubber for the manufacture of tires,” because a prohibition “may affect the incidence of Hevea brasiliensis natural-rubber allergies and allergy-induced autism.” The petition is similar to a petition that the same individual filed in March 2008 (PDF) (8 pp, 147K) to prohibit the use of allergenic natural rubber latex adhesive in medical devices.
Read the new petition and EPA’s acknowledgement letter.
Lead Dust Hazard Standard and Definition of Lead-based Paint
On August 10, 2009, EPA received a petition requesting the Agency to lower lead dust hazard standards and modify the definition of lead-based paint in its regulations promulgated under sections 401 and 403 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Specifically, petitioners are requesting that EPA:
Lower dust lead hazard standards at 40 CFR 745.65(b), 40 CFR 745.227(e)(8)(viii), and 40 CFR 745.227(h)(3)(i) from 40 micrograms of lead per square foot of surface area (µg/ft2) to 10 µg/ft2 or less for floors and from 250 µg/ft2 to 100 µg /ft2 or less for window sills.
Modify the definition of lead-based paint in 40 CFR 745.103 and 745.223 for previously applied paint or other surface coatings in housing, child-occupied facilities, public building and commercial buildings to reduce the lead levels from 0.5 percent by weight (5,000 parts per million (ppm)) to 0.06 percent by weight (600 ppm) with a corresponding reduction in the 1.0 milligram per square centimeter standard.
The petition was filed by the National Center for Healthy Housing, the Alliance for Healthy Homes, the Sierra Club and others. Read the petition (PDF) (8 pp, 127K). Read the Federal Register Notice on EPA's receipt of the petition (PDF) (3 pp, 56K).
On October 22, 2009, EPA responded to the petition, and agreed to revisit the current lead dust hazards standard and to work with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to modify the definition of lead-based paint in its regulations. Read the Agency's response (PDF) (2 pp, 482K).
Lead Wheel Weights
The Sierra Club, the Ecology Center and others filed the petition on May 29, 2009.
On August 26, 2009, EPA announced that it will grant a petition to initiate regulatory action to address lead hazards associated with the manufacture, processing, and distribution in commerce of lead wheel balancing weights ("wheel weights").
Read EPA's response to the petitioners (PDF) (1 pp, 297K). Read the petition (PDF) (4 pp, 278K). The petition incorporates by reference a similar 2005 petition by the Ecology Center, which was denied.
On March 24, 2008, EPA received a petition from numerous organizations and individuals asking EPA to regulate formaldehyde in pressed wood products. In response to the review of the petition (PDF) (106 pp, 4.4MB). EPA has launched a broad effort to gain a greater scientific understanding of the potential health risks of formaldehyde's use in pressed wood products.
Read the petition and the decision in the June 27, 2008, Federal Register (73 FR 36504). Exhibits to the petition and decision can be viewed in the docket (EPA-HQ-OPPT-2008-0267) at http://www.regulations.gov.
Natural Rubber Latex Adhesives
On March 6, 2008, an individual filed a petition with EPA requesting that the Agency "establish regulations prohibiting the use and distribution in commerce of Hevea brasiliensis natural rubber latex adhesives with a total protein content greater than 200 micrograms per [gram] dry weight of latex based on the American Society for Testing Materials method ASTM D1076-06 (Category 4)" in order to reduce "the incidence and prevalence of latex allergy and allergy-induced autism in neonates." EPA denied the petitioner's request in June 2008 as unsupported and unnecessary.
Read the petition (PDF) (8 pp, 147K) and the decision in the June 9, 2008, Federal Register. Exhibits can be viewed in the docket (EPA-OPPT-2008-0273) at http://www.regulations.gov.
Air Fresheners
On September 20, 2007, the Sierra Club, the National Center for Healthy Housing, the Alliance for Healthy Homes, and the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a petition with EPA requesting that EPA:
- Require manufacturers to submit to EPA allegations of adverse reactions related to air freshener products recorded by manufacturers and processors pursuant to TSCA Section 8(c) and 40 CFR Part 717;
- Adopt a rule pursuant to TSCA Section 8(d) to require submittal of health and safety studies related to air fresheners;
- Adopt a rule pursuant to TSCA Section 4 to require manufacturers to conduct acute and chronic studies to evaluate the impact of air fresheners on human health; and
- Adopt a rule pursuant to TSCA Section 6 to require that air fresheners be labeled to identify their ingredients.
On December 18, 2007, in letters to the petitioners (PDF) (4 pp, 1.8MB), EPA dismissed the petitioners' first request under TSCA section 8(c) because it did not involve a proceeding for a rule, and denied the petitioners' other three requests as unsupported and unnecessary.
Read the petition (PDF) (10 pp, 175K). Read the decision in the December 21, 2007, Federal Register.
Additional Action Related to Air Fresheners
EPA sent letters to seven companies that produce air fresheners (PDF) (14 pp, 9.9MB) asking them to voluntarily submit certain production and ingredient information to EPA by March 31, 2008. On March 24, 2008, EPA granted the companies a 45 day extension (PDF) (2 pp, 78K) until May 15, 2008. The following responses (PDF) (72 pp, 16.8MB), submitted by the manufacturers to EPA, are available to the public.
Read more information about TSCA section 21.