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Voluntary Information Submission Innovative Online Network (VISION)
IntroductionThe Interagency Testing Committee (ITC) was established by section 4(e) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) "to make recommendations to the Administrator respecting the chemical substances and mixtures to which the Administrator should give priority consideration for the promulgation of a rule for testing under section 4(a).... At least every six months ..., the Committee shall make such revisions to the Priority Testing List as it determines to be necessary and transmit them to the Administrator together with the Committee's reasons for the revisions" (Public Law 94-469, 90 Stat. 2003 et seq., 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.). Since its creation in 1976, the ITC has submitted 52 Reports to the U.S. EPA Administrator transmitting the Priority Testing List and its revisions. ITC Reports are available within a few days of submission to the Administrator in May and November and from after publication in the Federal Register. The ITC meets monthly and produces its revisions to the Priority Testing List with administrative and technical support from the ITC staff, ITC Members and their U.S. Government organizations, and contract support provided by U.S. EPA. ITC's voluntary information submission procedures
In its 41st Report (63 FR 17658, April 9, 1998) and 42nd Report ( 63 FR 42554, August 7, 1998), the ITC described its Voluntary Information Submission Innovative Online Network (VISION) and the Health and Safety Data Reporting Form. The VISION and Health and Safety Data Reporting Form were created by the ITC in response to chemical industry requests to offer more opportunities to provide voluntary information submissions. They were designed to:
1) Encourage more voluntary information reporting and testing,
2) Facilitate retrieval of information to meet U.S. Government data needs,
3) Promote more efficient use of TSCA section 4, 8 and related resources, and
4) Foster participation in ITC Dialogue Groups and Partnerships that advocate pollution
prevention, product stewardship and protection of the environment and human health.
The VISION and Health and Safety Data Reporting Form did not stimulate the submission of voluntary information as the ITC anticipated. In its 50th Report (67 Fed.Reg. 45929, July 30, 2002), the ITC asked for comments on procedures to make these tools more effective. In response, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) provided an explanation for the chemical industry's limited use of the Health and Safety Data Reporting Form. The ACC expressed concerns about the need to protect confidential business information, the problems associated with soliciting voluntary submissions on non-HPV chemicals, the potential non-existence of specific data being requested by the ITC and the resources required to submit studies as pdf files.
The ITC has reviewed its voluntary information submission procedures and considered industry comments discussed in the 51st Report. At this time, the ITC is revising the VISION as outlined below.
1. The ITC will continue to acknowledge trade organizations and companies that voluntarily submit information in response to an ITC solicitation.
2. The ITC has requested that the U.S. EPA include ITC's solicitations for voluntary information submissions in the summary and body of the preambles that are prepared for publication of the ITC's Reports in the Federal Register. This change should allow companies to readily determine if the ITC is soliciting voluntary information for chemicals they produce or import.
3. The ITC will notify major chemical trade associations by e-mail that new ITC Reports have been posted to the ITC's web site. The e-mails will include a summary of the Report and announcements of new information solicitations. This change should increase awareness of the ITC information solicitations and encourage voluntary submission of data.
4. The voluntary information submissions should be submitted within 90 days of the date the ITC Report is published in the Federal Register. Failure to voluntarily submit information in a timely manner may lead ITC to request that the U.S. EPA promulgate the appropriate TSCA section 8(a) and 8(d) reporting rules in a subsequent Report to the EPA Administrator.
5. The ITC will accept hard copy or electronic voluntary information submissions. All submissions should be titled as ITC-FYI and should bear the document control number of the ITC Report for which the submission is being provided, e.g., the docket control number for the 50th ITC Report is OPPT-2002-0026. Confidential Business Information (CBI) must be submitted as hard copies. Both sanitized (no CBI) and unsanitized (CBI) versions must be provided.
6. Information submitted voluntarily will not have to be re-submitted under a TSCA section 8(d) rule.
7. The ITC is continuing to discuss changes to the Electronic Health and Safety Data Reporting Form with the U.S. EPA along with other ways to improve electronic reporting of health and safety studies. To supplement the efforts to obtain studies in electronic format through the VISION, the ITC staff will continue to contact the producers and importers of ITC-recommended chemicals to obtain voluntary information submissions.
8. Voluntary information may be submitted by mail, in person, by courier or electronically.
a. By mail. Document Control Office (7407), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
b. In person or by courier. OPPT Document Control Office (DCO) in EPA East Building Rm. 6428, 1201 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The DCO is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the DCO is 202/564-8930.
c. Electronically. By e-mail to: oppt.ncic@epa.gov, or mail your computer disk to the address identified above. Do not submit any information electronically that you consider to be CBI. Electronic voluntary information submissions may be submitted as word, word perfect, excel, ISIS base or pdf files.
8. To assure rapid review, copies of all CBI and non-CBI voluntary information submissions should also be sent to:
John D. Walker, Ph.D., M.P.H.
ITC Director
OPPT/U.S. EPA (7401)
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20460
Email: walker.johnd@epa.gov