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Environmental Technology Initiative
EPA regulates "new" chemicals (those not yet in commerce in the U.S.) based on review through the New Chemicals process of whether they may present an unreasonable risk to workers, consumers, or the environment. EPA's regulation of substances which were in commerce when the Toxic Substances Control Act came into being (commonly referred to as "existing chemicals") is subject to a more stringent standard ("will present") and hence often-similar existing substances can escape regulation which is put in place on a comparable new chemical. Manufacturers have described this situation as "new chemical bias" and claim that it represents a significant, sometimes insurmountable, barrier to the commercialization of new chemicals.
Both the Existing and the New Chemicals Programs in EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics are fully aware that chemical manufacturers often do not apply the same controls on existing chemicals as are required for new chemicals, even though the existing chemical typically forms the toxicological basis for the Agency's risk findings. This dissimilarity in treatment may even occur when the new and existing chemicals are manufactured in the same plant. EPA believes, with industry, that this is an undesirable situation, though EPA's mission is to require or encourage comparable appropriate safety measures for the existing chemicals, rather than to relax requirements which EPA's risk managers have found to be appropriate for the new chemicals.
It is a particularly difficult situation for both manufacturers and risk managers when a new chemical is safer than existing chemicals for similar uses -- the result of an innovation in chemistry or technology -- and yet still presents risks that should be controlled. Agency risk managers seek not to erect a barrier to the introduction of a safer new chemical yet at the same time must ensure that adequate controls are in place to protect human health and the environment.
To address this situation, the New Chemicals Program has launched a project designed to reduce risk and the barriers to the development, introduction and use of safer chemicals and technologies. Known as the Environmental Technology Initiative (ETI) for Chemicals (an outgrowth of a government-wide ETI program designed to promote technological innovation, accelerate environmental protection, and increase exports of U.S. technologies), this project has the following goals:
Promote risk reduction within industry sectors by encouraging innovation -- in chemistry, production technologies, handling/ disposal practices -- for all chemicals, both new and existing;
Offer industry the opportunity to work with EPA to explore new, non-traditional ways to manage risks;
Refine EPA's understanding of the toxicity and risks associated with selected chemicals and use categories; and
Develop an information management infrastructure to enhance EPA's ability to identify risk reduction opportunities.
The ETI for Chemicals will seek risk management outcomes like the following:
Manufacturers agree to change the physical nature of a class of chemicals from a powder or other respirable form to a non-respirable one (e.g., pellet or slurry), thereby eliminating the potential for inhalation exposure and the need for traditional regulatory controls.
Rather than seeking to confirm a likely human health effect through costly additional toxicity testing, EPA and an industry consortium agree to reallocate resources--either for research and development on innovative control technologies to reduce occupational exposures, or to create a fund to expand the use of these technologies.
A company develops a safer way to synthesize a class of chemicals, reducing toxicity vis-a-vis existing products, and enhances its product stewardship program to ensure safe and effective use; in return, EPA eliminates a potential barrier to commercialization of the product line by adopting a voluntary approach to risk management.
For more information, contact Ken Moss, at 202-564-9232, or by E-mail at moss.kenneth@epamail.epa.gov.