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EPA reveals initial list of 40 chemicals it plans on evaluating

Yesterday, Wednesday, March 20, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency released a list of the 40 chemicals they plan on prioritizing for risk evaluation near the end of 2019.  Based on the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TCSA), the EPA is required to identify 40 chemicals as either High Priority or Low Priority for risk evaluation.

Alexandra Dapolito Dunn, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, wants consumers to understand that identifying a chemical as “high or low prioritization does not mean [the] EPA has determined it poses unreasonable risk or no risk to human health or the environment…” American consumers will have a 90-day public comment period where they can provide the EPA with valuable information that might help make their determination such as: “the uses, hazards, and exposure for these chemicals.” The EPA will use information gathered during the previously used Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program for chemicals such as formaldehyde to form their high or low priority risk assessment.

If a chemical is found to be of high priority, the EPA “will begin a 3-year risk evaluation process to determine if the chemical, under the conditions of use, presents an unreasonable risk to human health and the environment.” If it’s found to be low priority that means it’s been determined to not pose a risk at this time and mustn’t be evaluated at the moment.

A complete list of the ingredients designated as high priority and low priority can be found here: https://bit.ly/2CJvGUE

To read the complete post by the Environmental Protection Agency, click here: https://bit.ly/2HOYhfl