Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory Update Reporting (IUR)/Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) Rule

EPA participated in a workshop to clarify reporting obligations for manufacturers that send byproducts for recycling. A summary of the workshop and important information can be found in a recent IPC Outlook article.

On August 16, 2011 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the final Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule (formerly the Inventory Update Reporting (IUR) rule). The final CDR rule explicitly states that byproducts sent for recycling are new chemicals because they are a feedstock to the recycler and therefore subject to TSCA reporting.  IPC submitted extensive comments expressing our dissatisfaction with EPA's interpretation that byproducts sent for recycling are new chemicals and the overly burdensome reporting requirements proposed. The final rule requires manufacturers (including importers) of certain chemical substances listed on the TSCA Inventory of Chemical Substances to report information about the manufacturing (including import), processing, and use of those chemical substances.

Important changes to the reporting requirements include: reporting frequency will increase from every 5 to every 4 years, changing the method for determining whether you need to report, enhancing the manufacturing data and processing and use data required to be reported to include more information, requiring additional reporting to identify the consumer and commercial categories associated with the chemical substance, modifying the definitions for manufacturer and commercial use to include byproducts, and requiring mandatory electronic reporting. These requirements will be in effect for the 2011 submission period, during which 2010 manufacturing, processing and use information would be reported, which is scheduled to occur from February 1 to June 20, 2012.