Statement from Liz Hitchcock, Legislative Director
Washington, DC — The EPA issued a Federal Register notice this morning regarding requirements for Confidential Business Information claims under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). In response, Liz Hitchcock, Legislative Director of Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families issued the following statement:
“EPA’s notice today marks an important victory for the public’s right to know about toxic chemicals.
“The 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) allowed chemical companies to hide too much of the limited information that was available about chemicals from the public eye. Because of overly broad and often-abused provisions, manufacturers were allowed to claim information about a chemical, even its name, as ‘confidential business information.’ The 2016 reform of TSCA, the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act, requires that manufacturers provide a compelling reason for keeping information about a chemical hidden.
“With today’s notice, the EPA has made clear that the law now requires justification for all such claims when the information is submitted to EPA with limited exceptions.”