Herb Estreicher Quoted in Inside TSCA Article on EPA’s “Whole Chemical” Approach

Keller and Heckman Partner Herb Estreicher was quoted in the Inside TSCA article, “Industry Attorney Sees EPA Weighing ‘Hazard’ In Revised TSCA Findings.” The article mentions Keller and Heckman’s September 14, 2022, TSCA 30/30 Webinar, where Herb argues that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) broad “whole chemical” approach to risk determinations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) “falls perfectly” into a hazard-based model, even though the law calls for risk analysis. “…it seems to me the only reason that EPA would insist on a whole-chemical approach is to get closer to a hazard-based system, to signal to industry, consumers, and the public, that these chemicals pose an unreasonable risk no matter how they’re used and should not be a part of any sustainability strategy,” said Herb. He continued, “I’m not entirely sure what it is that EPA is up to. But one way of looking at this is, if you designate a chemical as posing an unreasonable risk, that basically sends a signal to industry and to consumers that no uses of these substances should be considered sustainable.” Herb went on to propose that the EPA could help companies looking for chemicals unlikely to face TSCA regulation by expanding its list of “low-priority” substances. Herb suggested that the low-priority list could be used in conjunction with the whole-chemical approach, “now that the whole-chemical approach effectively kills manufacturer-requested risk evaluations.”

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