181 



defer to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration — the expert agency 

 formed to address those issues. 



SOCMA is also pleased that EPA has started to talk with the regulated commu- 

 nity about ways to collect much-needed use and exposure information on chemicals 

 for which the Agency is conducting RM reviews. Along with CMA, SOCMA is work- 

 ing on a voluntary initiative called the Use and Exposure Information Project that 

 is expected to result in an useful method whereby industry can submit data to EPA 

 for RM decisionmaking. 



SOCMA is also working with OPPT along with various other "stakeholders" to de- 

 velop a so-called Toxics Agenda having conceptually supported OPPTs May 1993 

 strategy document which is the basis of these discussions. SOCMA believes the 

 strategy is consistent with the chemical industry's goals of safe chemical use and 

 management as it recognizes the importance of the conditions of chemical use with 

 regard to risk management. 



Although SOCMA supports EPA's public empowerment goals, it has concerns 

 about some of OPF*T's reforms under consideration for the Confidential Business In- 

 formation (CBI) Program as a part of EPA's efforts to provide the public, states and 

 other groups with more information. The protection of CBI is of critical concern to 

 specialty chemical manufacturers as the industry is highly competitive, and mainte- 

 nance of proprietary information can often make the difference between success and 

 failure. Without the protection of proprietary information extended to companies 

 under TSCA, it simply will not be economically feasible for many SOCMA members 

 to develop and make new products available. A review of the Freedom of Informa- 

 tion Act (FOIA) requests will reveal that many FOIAs are submitted by competitors 

 or law firms working on their behalf (not from the general public). 



SOCMA believes that industry is currently providing meaningful information to 

 the states and the public through TSCA, the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) and 

 other regulatory vehicles. As such, SOCMA believes that the existing statutory and 

 regulatory mechanisms for CBI protection under TSCA work effectively, and that 

 wholesale changes in the TSCA CBI program are unwarranted and undesirable. In 

 cosponsoring three regional workshops with CMA on CBI decisionmaking, SOCMA 

 is also demonstrating its commitment to working with the Agency to reduce or 

 eliminate any unwarranted CBI claims. 



Testing 



SOCMA is opposed to any amendments to TSCA that would impose mandatory 

 base set testing requirements for new and existing chemicals and believes that 

 TSCA Section 4 testing authority is adequate. A requirement for base set testing 

 (which tjrpically costs fi-om $175,000 — $200,000) for new chemicals would prove to 

 be such an economic hardship for small companies producing low volvune specialty 

 chemicals that it would virtually eliminate these companies fi-om the specialty 

 chemical business. EPA should only require test data that are needed to assess the 

 hazards of a new chemical, particularly since the Structvire Activity Relationship 

 (SAR) work done by the New Chemicals Branch allows EPA to make timely and 

 cost-effective decisions regarding new chemical products. 



Broad Policy Changes in the Existing Chemicals Program Are Not Needed- 

 Through, initiatives such as the RM Program and Use Cluster Scoring System, 

 SOCMA believes that EPA is starting to use its TSCA authority more efficiently. 

 In the past, the EPA spent valuable time and resources to mtike "unreasonable risk" 

 determinations under TSCA Section 6 with the goal of banning all uses of certain 

 substances. SOCMA believes that EPA, with its new approaches, will be able to ap- 

 propriately make unreasonable risk determinations but with a focus on chemicals 

 of high exposures/high risks. The outcome of these processes will be regulatory and 

 voluntary actions that reduce risks to acceptable levels. SOCMA opposes any legisla- 

 tive changes to TSCA that would allow EPA to automatically ban or restrict the pro- 

 duction of a chemical without making an unreasonable risk determination. Further, 

 SOCMA opposes any changes in TSCA that would erode EPA's ability to factor in 

 economics when making these determinations. 



