On January 11, 2017, the EPA released a final regulation pertaining to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
The Ruling
The TSCA addition under section 8(a) requires one-time reporting and ongoing recordkeeping of existing exposure and health and safety information of nanoscale chemical substances in all levels of commerce. It requires companies that manufacture, import or process certain substances that are classified as “nanoscale materials” to notify the EPA of specific information relating to those materials.
This information includes the specific chemical in use’s identity, production value, how it’s manufactured, how it’s used and levels of exposure, along with available health and safety data for that chemical. Companies that have manufactured or processed chemical substances classified as reportable under the act during the three years prior to the ruling have one year to report to the EPA to remain in compliance.
Nanoscale Materials?
What exactly are nanoscale materials? Does your company work with them? Will the ruling apply to you?
The EPA classifies nanoscale materials as chemical substances with structures and dimensions that fall on the nanoscale; typically, these range from 1 to 100 nanometers. While research is still being done on how these chemicals work, they might have properties that are different than the same substances on a larger scale. They behave different than standard chemicals under specific conditions – they could be more powerful, they could have a different reaction with other materials, they may be more lightweight and so on.
What Does it All Mean to Me?
If your company already tracks nanoscale materials, this ruling may not change a lot, except the need to report those materials to the EPA.
But, bigger changes could be coming.
The EPA’s announcement was accompanied by a note that it will be using the reports that come in to determine if additional reporting is necessary going forward. This could be a game-changer.
Whether you’re familiar with regulatory compliance in the manufacturing industry, or if it’s new to you, reporting can be a large task to undertake. Reports must be filed in specific formats and within certain time ranges. The process can be an entire job in itself when a company attempts to tackle it manually; it can be time-consuming, frustrating and expensive.
The Help You Need is Available
Working with data can be a beneficial task, reporting it can help serve the greater good. However, getting to a point of compliance can be a struggle.
You don’t have to go at it alone.
Providing support in reaching and maintaining compliance is why we created Zerion Reports. When used in conjunction with other Zerion data management and workflow tools, your company will be better equipped to not only produce reports that are compliant with regulations, like the TSCA, but also, to use that data to make better decisions internally.
If the TSCA act grows in scale, Zerion Reports could be even more beneficial as it allows for:
- Reports can be created to meet specific compliance standards with a simple drag-and-drop interface. Calculations and logic can also be added with ease.
- Reports can be created automatically based on data that is collected in the formats that are best for your specific needs.
- Reports can be shared with team members through email, PDF or print formats to enable all groups – from engineers to managers – to make better decisions.
At the TSCA’s core, especially with the new regulation, is reporting and compliance. This could become a larger task as time passes.
Will your company be impacted by the new rule? Are you prepared to update your reporting and compliance standards and capabilities? Need a little support to make it happen? Learn more about Zerion Reports, then request a live demo today!
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