The Toy Association Files Comments with EPA on ‘Whole Chemical' Evaluation

March 11, 2022 | The Toy Association joined the Downstream Users Coalition (DUC) in filing comments with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on March 3 to advocate against the agency’s new “whole chemical” approach (considering all use cases of a given chemical at the same time) to its evaluation process under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

The Association took advantage of the EPA’s open comment period for the draft risk evaluation scope for the flame retardant Cyclic Aliphatic Bromide Cluster, or HBCD (which is not expected to impact the toy industry), to voice its concerns on the new process. Prior to issuing the HBCD draft revision, EPA’s risk determination approach had been to make separate safety determinations for each relevant condition of use.

“We believe choosing not to evaluate each use case individually and assess their risks separately, as was done previously, will likely lead the agency to propose more frequent risk management measures, including for those that do not pose an unreasonable risk to workers, consumers, or the environment,” said Alan Kaufman, senior vice president of technical affairs at The Toy Association.

It is also the opinion of The Toy Association and fellow members of the DUC that a whole chemical approach may confuse the general public because it does not inform consumers as to which uses are safe and which pose risk.

This is the latest step in The Toy Association’s ongoing advocacy work with the DUC regarding TSCA. Questions on the EPA’s whole chemical approach may be directed to Alan Kaufman, and members will be updated on any new developments.