The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) delegated authority to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address chemical risks to the public and the environment. TSCA also created specific requirements for the regulation of chemicals that pose health risks to employees in the workplace. Specifically, the TSCA includes the Workplace Chemical Protection Program (WCPP) to assist employers with protecting their workers from unreasonable risks associated with regulated chemicals in the workplace.
Through the TSCA, the EPA undergoes a risk evaluation process to determine whether a particular substance presents an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment. To determine the risk, the EPA considers the hazard and the level of exposure while not considering the costs or other non-risk factors. The EPA must use the best available scientific information through a weight of the evidence approach.
REVIEW PROCESS
The first phase of the TSCA process requires the EPA to make an initial determination of whether a chemical is a high priority or low priority. If a chemical is designated as a high priority, the EPA enters the second phase by conducting a Risk Evaluation to determine whether the chemical creates an unreasonable risk. If the EPA determines that the chemical poses an unreasonable risk, then the EPA will undertake risk management and impose restrictions on the chemical to eliminate the unreasonable risk. The EPA publishes Draft Risk Evaluations in the Federal Register for public comment prior to the Final Risk Evaluation.
If the EPA determines that a chemical creates an unreasonable risk to a potentially exposed susceptible subpopulation, such as workers, then the EPA must regulate the chemical under Section 6(a) of TSCA (15 U.S.C. §2605). Section 6(a) granted the EPA authority to prohibit or limit the manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, use, or disposal of a chemical. In recent years, the EPA has regulated specific chemicals that negatively impact employees’ health through the WCPP. WCPP requirements range from imposing personal protective equipment requirements on employees to phasing out a chemical entirely.
In 2024 and 2025, the EPA finalized rules that include WCPP requirements for methylene chloride (also known as dichloromethane or DCM), perchloroethylene (PCE), trichloroethylene (TCE) and carbon tetrachloride. These four chemicals are used in a variety of products and industries, such as in refrigerants and adhesives or in dry cleaning and other manufacturing processes. These new requirements are intended to protect workers from adverse health impacts. Employers who utilize these chemicals must implement the WCPP in their workplace within three years or less. While three years is the maximum amount of time overall, each chemical has its own schedule for implementation that employers must comply with that may set a shorter time period.
FUTURE ACTION
While not finalized yet, the EPA also has a number of chemicals that are in varying stages of the TSCA process that may require action from manufacturers, processors, distributors, users, or disposers in the future.
The following chemicals have a proposed risk management rule: 1-Bromopropane, N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP); C.I. Pigment Violet 29 (PV29).
The following chemicals are in the final risk evaluation stage: 1,1-Dichloroethane; 1,4-dioxane; Carbon Tetrachloride; Cyclic Aliphatic Bromide Cluster (HBCD); Di-isodecyl phthalate – (1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid 1,2-diisodecyl ester) (DIDP); Di-isononyl phthalate – (1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, 1,2-diisononyl ester) (DINP); Formaldehyde; Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP).
The following chemicals are in the draft risk evaluation phase: 1,2-Dichloroethane; 1,2-Dichloropropane; 1,3-Butadiene; Di-ethylhexyl phthalate – (1,2-Benzene-dicarboxylic acid, 1,2- bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester) (DEHP); Di-isobutyl phthalate – (1,2-Benzene-dicarboxylic acid, 1,2- bis-(2methylpropyl) ester) (DIBP); Asbestos; Butyl benzyl phthalate – 1,2-Benzene- dicarboxylic acid, 1- butyl 2(phenylmethyl) ester (BBP); Dibutyl phthalate (1,2-Benzene- dicarboxylic acid, 1,2- dibutyl ester) (DBP); Dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP); Octamethylcyclotetra siloxane (D4).
CONCLUSION
Employers using any of these chemicals should be closely tracking their regulation under the TSCA and should be making the EPA aware of any difficulties or obstacles to reducing or replacing the use of these chemicals. The overall goal of the WCPP process is to identify chemicals posing unreasonable risks to employees and remove those risks from the workplace as possible to protect employee health.
If you have any questions, please reach out to our Environmental Practice Group at 814/870-7600.
Julia T. Guerrein is an associate at MacDonald Illig Attorneys. She is a member of the Firm’s Environmental and Government Services Practice Groups.
