Proposed TSCA Significant New Use Rules SNUR

EPA has announced Significant New Use Rules (SNURs) under section 5(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 15 chemical substances, which were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMNs). Three of these chemical substances are subject to TSCA section 5(e) consent orders issued by EPA. The effective date of this rule is April 2, 2010, unless EPA receives written adverse or critical comments, or notice of intent to submit adverse or critical comments before March 3, 2010.

This action requires persons who intend to manufacture, import, or process any of these 15 chemical substances for an activity that is designated as a significant new use by the rule to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing that activity. The notification will provide EPA with the opportunity to evaluate the intended use and, if necessary, to prohibit or limit that activity before it occurs.

If EPA receives written adverse or critical comments, or notice of intent to submit adverse or critical comments, on one or more of these SNURs before March 3, 2010, EPA will withdraw the relevant sections of the final rule before its effective date. EPA will then issue a proposed SNUR for the chemical substance(s) on which adverse or critical comments were received, providing a 30–day period for public comment.

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Illinois Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has notified computer, television and printer manufacturing companies doing business in Illinois of statewide collection and recycling requirements as they implement recycling programs for excess electronic waste (e-waste). The Illinois Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act requires electronic manufacturers and retailers to properly manage discarded and unwanted electronic products, if they sell their products in the state. They must establish a system for recycling and/or reusing computers, monitors, televisions and printers discarded from residences. Beginning January 1, 2012, computers, monitors, televisions and printers will be banned from landfill disposal.

Each year, the Illinois EPA sets a statewide goal for the amount of e-waste that must be recycled and then allocates that goal among electronics manufacturers based on various formulas included in the Act. The statewide recycling goal for 2010 is 31 million pounds of e-waste. Manufacturers are required to pay for e-waste recycling and/or refurbishment up to the amount of their annual goal.

The law does not specify methods for manufacturers to meet these obligations, allowing a free market approach to determine over time the most cost-effective means of annual goal achievement.

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Missouri DNR Electronics Scrap Management Rule

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has completed rulemaking under to regulate the collection and recycling of computers under 10 CSR 25-19.010 Electronics Scrap Management. These rules were required in the Manufacturer Responsibility and Consumer Convenience Collection and Recovery Act. The Act requires manufacturers of computers to implement recovery plans for the collection and recycling or reuse of their obsolete equipment. The recovery plan must be implemented and a copy of the plan submitted to the Department of Natural Resources before the manufacturer can sell its computers in Missouri. Manufacturers must also label their equipment to identify themselves as the manufacturer.

Requirements for the recovery plan and reporting by computer manufacturers are listed in the Act. Retailers are prohibited from selling new computers in Missouri unless the equipment contains a manufacturer's label and the manufacturer is listed by the department as having a recovery plan.

The Act required the DNR to promulgate rules by July 1, 2009 to implement the law. Although many of the details are found in the law itself, the intent of the rule is to implement the act by further defining some of the terms used, clarifying who the law applies to, clearly stating the requirements for both manufacturers and retailers and establishing the standards for handling equipment covered by the law. The proposed rule was published in the Missouri Register on Aug. 3, 2009.

The final rule scheduled to be published in the March 30 update of the Code of State Regulation and will be effective on April 30, 2010.

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VOC Content Restrictions on Consumer Products - Revised NYDEC Rule

In January 2010, revised New York Department of Conservation (DEC) regulations became effective relating to the volatile organic compound (VOC) content of certain consumer products. In 2009, DEC made revisions to Part 235-2.1 including definitions for eleven new categories of consumer products that are being regulated in the revised Part 235. The new categories are: adhesive remover, anti-static (non-aerosol), electrical cleaner, electronic cleaner, fabric refresher, footwear or leather care, graffiti remover, hair styling products, shaving gel, toilet/urinal care, and wood cleaner. DEC also added definitions for the contact adhesive product category and is revised the definitions for two previously regulated product categories: air fresheners and general purpose degreasers.

DEC also modified several of the existing definitions and added other new definitions. For example, the Department revised the existing definition of "deodorant" and added a new definition for "deodorant body spray." Some of the new definitions come from the revised Ozone Transport Commission (OTC) model rule for Consumer Products. These definitions include: "APC VOC Standard," "Energized electrical cleaner," and "Existing product."

The revisions to section 235-3.1 amended the Table of Standards to include the VOC limits for the new categories and the revised VOC limits for the Contact Adhesive product category. The prohibitions concerning sale of these consumer products apply to products manufactured on or after January 1, 2010 which contain VOCs in excess of the VOC content limits specified in the Table of Standards (Subpart 235-3.1[a]).

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Changes To TSCA Confidential Business Information CBI Policy

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has enacted a new policy to regarding chemical reporting requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Starting today, EPA has announced its intention to reject a certain type of confidentiality claim, known as Confidential Business Information (CBI), on the identity of chemicals. The chemicals that will be affected by this action are those that are submitted to EPA with studies that show a substantial risk to people's health and the environment and have been previously disclosed on the TSCA Chemical Inventory.

Under TSCA, companies may claim a range of sensitive, proprietary information as CBI. Under Section 8(e) of TSCA, companies that manufacture, process, or distribute chemicals are required to immediately provide notice to EPA if they learn that a chemical presents a substantial risk of injury to health or the environment. The Section 8(e) reports are made available on EPA’s Web site. In the past, companies could claim confidentiality for the actual identity of the chemical covered by the Section 8(e) submission, so the public posting of the information would not include the name of the chemical. The new policy ends this practice for chemicals on the public portion of the TSCA Inventory.

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New Air Quality Standard for Nitrogen Dioxide - NO2

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a new national air quality standard for nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The agency set the new one-hour standard for NO2 at a level of 100 parts per billion (ppb). EPA is retaining the existing annual average standard of 53 ppb.

EPA is establishing new monitoring requirements in urban areas that will measure NO2 levels around major roads and across the community. Monitors must be located near roadways in cities with at least 500,000 residents. Larger cities and areas with major roadways will have additional monitors. Community-wide monitoring will continue in cities with at least 1 million residents. Working with the states, EPA will site at least 40 monitors in locations to help protect communities that are susceptible and vulnerable to elevated levels of NO2.

EPA expects to identify or designate areas not meeting the new standard, based on the existing community-wide monitoring network, by January 2012. New monitors must begin operating no later than January 1, 2013. When three years of air quality data are available from the new monitoring network, EPA intends to redesignate areas as appropriate.

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Proposed Rules on Air Transport of Lithium Batteries

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has proposed new requirements for air shipments of lithium batteries and cells, including when they are packed with or contained in equipment. The proposed changes intended to ensure that lithium batteries are designed to withstand normal transportation conditions and that they are packaged to reduce the possibility of damage that could lead to an unsafe incident.

DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), developed this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to comprehensively address the safe transportation of lithium cells and batteries when being shipped on aircraft.

In part, DOT proposes to:

• Eliminate regulatory exceptions for small lithium cells and batteries when included in an air shipment; and require their transportation as Class 9 materials, meaning they could pose a hazard when transported;

• Subject packages of small lithium batteries to well-recognized marking and labeling requirements for hazardous materials;

• Require transport documentation to accompany a shipment of small lithium batteries, including notifying the pilot in command of the presence and location of lithium batteries being shipped on the aircraft;

• Require manufacturers to retain results of satisfactory completion of United Nations design-type tests for each lithium cell and battery type;

• Limit stowage of lithium cell and battery shipments aboard aircraft to cargo locations accessible to the crew or locations equipped with an FAA-approved fire suppression system, unless transported in a container approved by the FAA Administrator; and

• Apply appropriate safety measures for the transport of lithium cells or batteries identified as being defective for safety reasons, or those that have been damaged or are otherwise being returned to the manufacturer, and limit the transportation of defective or damaged cells or batteries to highway and rail.

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