TSCA gives the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) broad authority to regulate chemicals in commerce. It is one of the few laws that can restrict a company’s ability to do business in the United States. When enacted, Congress intended TSCA to be a risk-based statute that fully considered the potential for exposure before action could be taken to manage a chemical’s risk. This inhibits politically motivated decision-making and potential disruption in the marketplace.

Over time, EPA has creatively used a combination of TSCA authority and voluntary programs to effectively manage chemical risks. Often, EPA has secured agreements from industry to phase out substances of high Agency concern long before governments in other countries could pass regulations to achieve similar outcomes.

TSCA is now over 30 years old and there are calls from environmental, public health and other groups to overhaul the statute and make it more like the European REACH system.