EPA is taking steps to improve and hasten its review process for new chemicals, a mainstay complaint from manufacturers who say delays greatly inhibit progress.
Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said the new initiatives “will make our process more transparent, save submitters time and money, and better protect workers.”
The agency has long allowed manufacturers to produce a chemical even if there are data gaps in understanding how a new substance might affect human or environmental health.
Now, workers will have information about what those risks are, or what is still unknown, thanks to new updates to EPA’s boilerplate language for orders on new chemicals. Those orders may list certain conditions of use that could limit how much can be produced of handled.
