Apr 1, 2013

US: EPA Chemical Risk Assessment Plan For 2013 to Focus on Flame Retardants

This article is brought to you by Bloomberg BNA.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced plans March 27 to begin
full risk assessments on seven chemicals in 2013, including four flame
retardants.

The agency's 2013 Toxic Substances Control Act work plan identified
plans to study 20 flame retardant chemicals, using information from
the four full risk assessments to better understand other similar
chemicals that lack sufficient data for a full risk assessment. The
agency also plans to investigate some flame retardants to determine
how they transform and move in the environment.

The four flame retardants that will undergo a full risk assessment are:

2-ethylhexyl ester 2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (TBB);
1,2- ethylhexyl 3,4,5,6-tetrabromo-benzenedicarboxylate, or
(2-ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6 tetrabromophthalate (TBPH);
tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP); and
hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD).
EPA's 2013 work plan also includes a full risk assessment for the
widely used industrial chemical 1-bromopropane. The chemical is used
as a solvent in some commercial applications, including dry cleaning,
and to degrease electronics, precision optics, and metals.

EPA also announced plans to launch environmental fate investigations
of eight flame retardants for which there is not adequate data
available to conduct a full risk assessment.

For more information and the full article please refer to the link
http://www.bna.com/epa-chemical-risk-n17179873116/