Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) about the Interagency Testing Committee

What is the ITC?

An independent advisory committee to the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) that was created in 1976 under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)

What does the ITC do?

Meets every other month to prioritize and select chemicals for information reporting and testing to meet the coordinated data needs of its member U.S. Government organizations
Decides which chemicals should be recommended to the U.S. EPA Administrator and added to the Priority Testing List
Revises the Priority Testing List every May and November and transmits these revisions to the U.S. EPA Administrator as Reports that are delivered to the U.S. EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention & Toxics (OPPT) for action and publication in the Federal Register
Reviews unpublished information and voluntary testing data submitted by the producers and importers of ITC-recommended chemicals.
Reviews production confidential business information (CBI) submitted under TSCA section 8(a) Inventory Update Rules (IURs), production and exposure CBI submitted under TSCA section 8(a)Preliminary Assessment Information Reporting (PAIR) rules and unpublished health effects, ecological effects and environmental fate studies submitted under TSCA section 8(d) Health and Safety Data Reporting (HaSDR) rules. Unless otherwise requested by the ITC, these rules are automatically promulgated by OPPT for all chemicals added to the Priority Chemicals List and rapidly provide data 60 days from the rules' effective date.
Discusses ongoing and planned testing, use, exposure, persistence and toxicology data with manufactures, importers, processors and users of recommended chemicals to address issues relevant to cost-effectively meeting U.S. Government data needs.

Makes all Reports and information reporting or testing decisions publicly available

What are the 8 TSCA section 4(e) chemical screening factors that the ITC must consider before recommending a chemical for testing?

Quantities of chemicals manufactured
Quantities of chemicals released to the environment
Numbers of individuals exposed and duration of exposure
Extent of human exposure
Structure activity relationships to known toxic substances
Available toxicity data
Reliability of test data to predict hazard
Availability of testing facilities

Which U.S. Government organizations are represented on the ITC?

Who provides support to the ITC?

OPPT provides support for 2 ITC staff members, travel and training funds, an extramural contractor and resources to: 1) prepare preamble and publish ITC Reports in the Federal Register , 2) prepare and publish PAIR and HaSDR rules as Federal Register notices that require submission of TSCA 8(a) and 8(d) data for ITC recommended chemicals and 3) prepare and publish Federal Register notices to implement testing of ITC recommended chemicals.

Statutory and Liaison Members provide resources and travel funds to: 1) participate in ITC meetings and Dialogue Group meetings, 2) review data and meet with others in their organizations to discuss possible nominations of chemicals for recommendation, 3) develop rationales and supporting information for nominated chemicals, 4) review unpublished data submitted for recommended chemicals, 5) meet with manufacturers and processors of recommended chemicals, 6) work with OPPT to implement the recommended testing and 7) utilize the data resulting from the recommended testing.

What has the ITC accomplished?

Convened 451 meetings
Transmitted 57 Reports to the U.S. EPA Administrator
Recommended information reporting or testing for about 4,500 chemicals
Deferred information reporting or testing for about 39,500 chemicals
Reviewed about 1700 CBI reports submitted in response to PAIR rules
Reviewed about 2,200 studies submitted in response to voluntary solicitations
Reviewed about 10,200 studies submitted in response to HaSDR rules

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) about the Interagency Testing Committee

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