Jan. 12 US: EPA Scheduled to Publish Proposed SNURs for 17 Chemicals Including CNTs

From: Environmental Expert

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to publish proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) for 17 chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN). According to EPA, 15 of the substances are subject to consent orders under Section 5(e) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Persons who intend to manufacture, import, or process any of the 17 substances for an activity that is designated as a significant new use by the proposed rules would be required to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing that activity. Of particular interest, seven of the PMN substances’ reported chemical names include the term ‘carbon nanotube’ (CNT) or ‘CNT.’

EPA states that because of a lack of established nomenclature for CNTs, the TSCA Inventory names for CNTs are currently in generic form, e.g., ‘carbon nanotube (CNT), multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT), double-walled carbon nanotube (DWCNT), or single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT).’ EPA uses the specific structural characteristics provided by the PMN submitter to characterize more specifically the TSCA Inventory listing for an individual CNT. According to EPA, all submitters of new chemical notices for CNTs have claimed those specific structural characteristics as confidential business information (CBI). The proposed rule includes the generic chemical name along with the PMN number to identify that a distinct chemical substance was the subject of the PMN without revealing the confidential chemical identity of the PMN substance.

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