In a Move Towards Transparency, EPA Makes the TSCA Inventory Freely Accessible to the Public

I have mentioned the TSCA Inventory here many times. Well, now the EPA has announced that it is making the Inventory available to the public, free of charge, on the internet. Previously it was accessible only by purchasing it from the NTIS library or other databases. By making it free on its website, EPA is taking "another step to increase the transparency of chemical information while continuing to push for legislative reform of the 30 year old TSCA law."

The TSCA Inventory can be accessed here.

The currently Invenotry lists more than 84,000 chemicals manufactured, used, or imported in the United States. About 17,000 of these are protected by confidential business information claims and cannot be included in the free database at this point. However, EPA has already begun taking a series of aggressive steps to provide greater transparency on chemical risk information. I mentioned one such step several weeks ago that noted EPA’s intent to reduce at least one type of CBI claim.

Next steps at increasing transparency include adding TSCA facility information and the list of chemicals manufactured to the Facility Registry System to the freely available information. The FRS is a database that with these additions will provide the public with information on the facilities in their communities using industrial chemicals.

So while the march towards TSCA reform continues in Congress, EPA also continues to work within its current TSCA authority to improve the transparency and safety of chemicals.