EPA has completed its first new TSCA evaluation of an existing chemical since the Trump administration, finding that 10 of 21 uses for the flame retardant tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) contribute to “unreasonable risk” for workers and users of many products -- a conclusion that triggers a two-year statutory deadline for the agency to regulate those risks.
September 16, 2026
A formaldehyde manufacturer is asking to intervene in environmentalists’ suit against EPA seeking deadlines for 20 overdue TSCA risk evaluations months after the two sides proposed a deal that would require a final formaldehyde analysis by Dec. 31, saying that schedule “is unreasonably short” and ignores some peer reviewers’ criticism of the draft evaluation.
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Industry groups say EPA’s draft TSCA evaluation of the solvent 1,1-dichloroethane (1,1-DCA) ignored key data on workplace exposures and ecotoxicity that they submitted under a 2022 testing mandate, leading to what they claim are “unfounded” determinations that it poses unreasonable risk.
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EPA is proposing to find that just three uses of the phthalate known as DINP pose unreasonable risks that could warrant regulation as part of a newly released draft TSCA evaluation, including two workplace applications that the agency is conceding may have already been abandoned by employers.
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California lawmakers have killed a bill that would have prohibited, beginning July 1, 2026, the sale and use of firefighter personal protective equipment (PPE) containing intentionally added PFAS, and would have required state regulators to align worker-safety rules with a future national standard for PFAS-free firefighting gear.
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The Department of Agriculture (USDA) pressed EPA to craft guidance on how its just-completed Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) formaldehyde assessment will drive strict workplace limits on the ubiquitous chemical, as part of an interagency review process where USDA and others also echoed employers’ persistent criticism of EPA’s analysis.
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Members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s (NASEM) standing toxicology committee are calling for new approaches to testing the dangers of human exposure to micro- and nano-plastics, particularly in aging veterans -- tests they say could lead to first-time occupational exposure limits for the materials.
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The AFL-CIO and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) are urging EPA to strengthen its proposed TSCA rule for n-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) by banning more uses of the solvent and imposing tighter restrictions on continuing applications, saying the current version sidesteps the hierarchy of controls and will not adequately protect workers.
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EPA has unveiled its long-awaited and controversial Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) formaldehyde assessment -- a pivotal factor in a pending TSCA evaluation of the chemical -- that generally retains conservative risk values that employers have long feared will lead to strict limits on workplace exposures.
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A federal appellate court has for a second time denied the AFL-CIO’s petition to intervene in litigation over TSCA limits on methylene chloride to defend the rule against industry challenges, appearing to guarantee that no environmental or labor group will be able to step in if the next administration stops defending the case or seeks to settle it.
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