Toxic Substances Control Act

PASSED BY THE U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Gerald Ford on October 11, 1976, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) directed the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish testing procedures for toxic chemicals, publicize the results of chemicals which prove to be dangerous, and to set guidelines for controlling toxic chemicals.

[Page 812]Legislation with a similar aim was originally proposed in 1971 by the President's Council on Environmental Quality. In one of the council's reports, a desire for substantial legislation to examine, to identify, and to regulate potentially harmful toxic chemicals was expressed. In subsequent years, the House and the Senate each passed their own versions of legislation, during both the 92nd and 93rd sessions, to address the concerns raised by the council. Disagreements resulted on the issues of chemical testing and the legislation's relationship to current regulatory laws, leading to inaction on the topic. Enactment of the TSCA finally came after there was a rise in public concern about the contamination of the Hudson River and other waterways by chlorinated biphenyl molecules (PCBs), emissions of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), and the contamination of food products by polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs). A final version was drafted by U.S. Senator John V. Tunney of California and accepted by the majority of the House and Senate.

At first, there was a major lack of knowledge about which chemicals were toxic and about the potential effects of chemical toxicity. Therefore, the first step of the TSCA was to research and examine various chemicals in order to discover the effects of their use. Even today, the potential health and environmental effects of some chemicals which are being used daily are not completely understood.

To gain knowledge, the TSCA directed the collection of test data from different U.S. industries concerning all the chemicals that they used. Guidelines for which chemicals should be tested were set forth in the TSCA and the EPA was authorized to modify and enforce them. Companies are required to compile test data on chemicals whose manufacture, distribution, and use “may present an unreasonable risk.” Testing is also required for chemicals which are produced in large amounts and if there is a possibility that some quantity of the chemical may be released into the environment or be exposed to people. Consequently, a company must compile the data and submit it to the EPA. Then, the EPA is obligated by the TSCA to require further tests if existing data does not sufficiently prove that a certain chemical is safe and if further testing is necessary to even draw conclusions.

Since there were over 55,000 chemicals being manufactured and used at the time of the TSCA's enactment, the U.S. Congress set up a special interagency committee to work with the EPA in deciding which chemicals should be examined first and in coordinating the efforts of various government agencies. Every six months, the Interagency Testing Committee (ITC), as it is known, compiles a list of up to 50 chemicals and submits it to the EPA. In response, the EPA must deal with the list by returning an explanation to the ITC or calling for testing for each chemical on the list. ITC's factors for chemical selection include quantity manufactured, quantity released into the environment, number of exposures, similarity of the chemical to other known toxic chemicals, current information, and the availability of testing resources for the chemicals.

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