As EPA works to finalize a new existing chemicals risk evaluation framework rule, pending Fifth Circuit decisions and legislation introduced to amend TSCA could complicate the Agency’s plans.
By Julia A. Hatcher, Tom Lee, and Hunter J. Kendrick
For the third time since the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 6 was amended in 2016 to mandate existing chemical risk evaluations, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is working to finalize a new iteration of its “Framework Rule” that establishes risk evaluation procedures. The newest proposal would reject the Framework Rule adopted during the Biden administration and its “whole chemical” comprehensive risk evaluation approach. The new proposed rule would allow EPA to narrow the scope of risk evaluations by excluding both particular conditions of use and exposures unlikely to result in unreasonable risk. EPA plans to publish a final rule in April 2026.
EPA’s efforts arise at a time when Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decisions are pending on the legality of two TSCA risk management rules promulgated in 2024 for methylene chloride and chrysotile asbestos. Each case raises, in part, the statutory interpretations that underpin EPA’s rationale for replacing the current Framework Rule. Meanwhile, both chambers of Congress are considering draft legislation to amend TSCA. Together, these developments suggest that 2026 may well be a year of transition for TSCA.
This Client Alert analyses the new TSCA framework, as well as pending court cases and draft legislation that could impact it.