EPA Initiates Development of Risk Mitigation Rules for Methylene Chloride and 1-BP

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be host a webinar on Sept. 30 for stakeholders to review its risk mitigation process after risk evaluation, focusing on 1-bromopropane (1-BP). The agency has finalized risk evaluations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for both 1-BP and methylene chloride, and EPA held a webinar on the latter on Sept. 16. During the upcoming webinar, EPA will address its process for issuing a risk mitigation rule and industry engagement.

By law, EPA must propose a rule within one year of finalizing a risk evaluation, and it must issue a final rule within two years.

EPA, with ACA, will be hosting a webinar for ACA members only to talk about risk mitigation for methylene chloride and 1-bromopropane, as it relates to ACA members’ products. A date and time is yet to be determined.  

EPA has identified the following relevant uses for methylene chloride and 1-bromopropane where the agency reached a final determination of unreasonable risk.

In the methylene chloride risk evaluation, EPA found unreasonable risk for the following uses relevant to ACA members’ products:

• Processing – Incorporation into formulation (workers and ONU’s)
• Processing – Repackaging (ONU’s)
• Adhesives and sealants, industrial and commercial use (workers and ONU’s)
• Paints and coatings, industrial and commercial use (workers and ONU’s)
• Paint and coating removers, industrial and commercial use (workers and ONU’s)
• Adhesive and caulk removers, industrial and commercial use (workers and ONU’s)
• Anti-adhesive agents, industrial and commercial use (workers)
• Consumer adhesives and sealants (consumers and by-standers)
• Consumer brush cleaners (consumers)
• Consumer adhesive and caulk removers (consumers and by-standers)
• Crafting glue, cement and concrete (consumers and by-standers)
• Anti-adhesive agents (consumers and by-standers)
• Carbon remover and brush cleaner (consumers and by-standers)

For the 1-BP risk evaluation, EPA issued findings of unreasonable risk for:

• Processing, incorporation into formulation (unreasonable risk for workers and ONU’s)
• Adhesive chemicals (industrial / commercial use) – spray adhesive for foam cushion manufacturing and other uses (unreasonable risk for workers and ONU’s)
• Anti-adhesive agents, industrial / commercial use (unreasonable risk for workers and ONU’s)
• Adhesive accelerant, industrial / commercial, arts/crafts (unreasonable risk for workers and ONU’s)
• Laboratory chemicals (unreasonable risk for workers and ONU’s)
• Consumer adhesive accelerant, arts / crafts (unreasonable risk to consumers and bystanders)
• Consumer anti-adhesive agent, arts / crafts (unreasonable risk to consumers and bystanders)

EPA found the following uses for 1-BP do not pose an unreasonable risk: Disposal and exposure to the general population, through sediment, drinking water or surface water.

Contact ACA’s Riaz Zaman for more information.

The post EPA Initiates Development of Risk Mitigation Rules for Methylene Chloride and 1-BP appeared first on American Coatings Association.

from American Coatings Association https://www.paint.org/epa-risk-mitigation/
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