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Related EPA Activities
EPA's work on existing chemicals under TSCA is only a part of the Agency's overall work on chemicals. Some other closely related Agency activities are listed here.
EPA nominates chemicals to undergo systematic review and be included in the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), an electronic database containing information on human health effects that may result from exposure to various substances in the environment. IRIS is prepared and maintained by the EPA’s National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within the Office of Research and Development (ORD).
EPA’s New Chemicals program assesses and where appropriate manages the potential risk from chemical substances new to the marketplace by functioning as a "gatekeeper" that can identify conditions, up to and including a ban on production, to be placed on the manufacture (including import), processing, distribution, use, or disposal of a new chemical substance using TSCA authority before it is entered into commerce. Decisions on new chemical substances are informed by information on similar existing chemicals, and information submitted on new chemicals can change EPA’s understanding of similar existing chemicals.
TSCA does not apply to pesticides, but many chemical substances with pesticide uses also have non-pesticide uses that are covered by TSCA. The Existing Chemicals program coordinates with the EPA Office of Pesticide Programs on these chemicals.
TSCA is not the only law under which EPA regulates chemicals to manage risk. Section 9 of TSCA requires that if the Administrator determines that another statute administered by EPA would adequately manage risk, EPA must use that statute instead of TSCA unless the Administrator determines that it is in the public interest that TSCA be used. To learn whether a chemical is regulated under any of EPA’s statutes, you can consult the EPA Substance Registry Service (SRS). Please note that SRS is an information resource only and may not list all the regulatory requirements applicable to a chemical substance; therefore, it should not be relied upon in lieu of relevant orders, Federal Register documents, or the Code of Federal Regulations.
