The Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 provides the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) with the authority to require reporting, record-keeping and testing requirements, and restrictions relating to chemical substances and/or mixtures. Certain substances are generally excluded from TSCA, including food, drugs, cosmetics and pesticides, among. Others. On June 22, 2016, the law was amended which required the EPA to evaluate chemicals with clear and enforceable deadlines, use risk-based chemical assessments, inform the public, and provide consistent funding to implement this this law. It was tasked with evaluating ten chemicals which was completed between June 2020 and January 2021.
There are approximately 80,000 chemicals used in commerce in the United States and it is estimated that one to ten percent of them have beenthoroughly tested for human health and environmental hazards. Under the TSCA, the EPA prioritizes evaluating chemicals that are carcinogenic, neurotoxic, endocrine disruptors, persistent and bioacccumlative, and widely used in consumer products. Also on that list are chemicals with occupational exposure risks.
Only in recent years has the EPA begun evaluating occupational health exposures. Those that have been completed include five phthalates including butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP), diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), and diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP). Chronic exposure to phthalates adversely effects the endocrine system and multiple organs. They also have negative long-term impacts on pregnancy, child growth and development, and reproductive systems in young children and adolescents.
The EPA has also investigated solvents including methylene chloride, 1-bromopropane, trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene carbon tetrachloride, 1,4-dioxane, and N-methylpyrrolidone. They have developed occupational exposure standards for some of them. The EPA is heavily restricting or banning key chlorinated solvents due to severe cancer risks and health hazards. A December 2024 final rule prohibits most TCE uses, while PCE faces a 10-year phaseout in dry cleaning and immediate bans on consumer/many commercial uses. The EPA next plans to study vinyl chloride, acetaldehyde, acrylonitrile, benzenamine, and MBOCA.
The EPA also has an Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS). It aims to reduce pesticide poisonings and injuries among agricultural workers and pesticide handlers. The WPS offers occupational protections to over 2 million agricultural workers and pesticide handlers who work at over 600,000 agricultural establishments. The EPA has also provided guidelines for statistical analysis of occupational exposure data.
For many years, governmental and private organizations such as OSHA, NIOSH, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), and the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) have developed occupational exposure standards for some chemicals. The EPA has become an additional occupational standards-maker.
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