WASHINGTON, D...C. – Charles T. Drevna, President of NPRA, the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association, today expressed the association’s support for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) step to better address confidential business information (CBI) claims. EPA’s plans were announced in today’s Federal Register.  The agency is pursuing a change in its practice when handling CBI claims for health and safety studies submitted under Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(e).  EPA believes that claiming the identity of a substance that is part of a substantial risk notification as confidential is counterproductive to the agency’s move to make more information available to the public.  This is especially true if the substance already appears on the public TSCA Inventory. 

 

“We support EPA’s action because it is the right thing do with regard to addressing health and safety concerns,” Drevna said. “We applaud the Obama Administration for taking this step that, frankly, previous administrations would have been wise to consider.”

 

NPRA supports the concept of protecting CBI, which can offer a competitive advantage to innovative companies developing new, and often safer, chemicals.  The protection of CBI is especially critical for small businesses.  In the case of health and safety information, however, it makes little sense to protect the identity of a chemical that is already publicly available on the TSCA Inventory.