Small Business Environmental Roundtable – September 11, 2020

FRIDAY, September 11, 2020, 10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Via Webinar

The next U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy Environmental Roundtable will meet virtually to discuss the following topics, beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday, September 11, 2020.  The meeting will be held using the Microsoft Teams platform.

Send your RSVP to tayyaba.zeb@sba.gov.  A meeting link will be provided to you when you RSVP.

Agenda 

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM             EPA’s Final Risk Evaluation for Methylene Chloride

Ingrid Feustel, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, EPA

The Impact of the Methylene Chloride Risk Evaluation on Small Business

Christopher Bevan, Director of Scientific Programs, HSIA

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM             EPA’s Final Risk Evaluation for 1- Bromopropane

Ana Corado, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, EPA

Roundtable meetings are open to all interested persons, with the exception of the press, in order to facilitate open and frank discussion about the impacts of Federal regulatory activities on small entities.  Agendas and presentations are available to all, including the press. Anyone who wants to receive roundtable agendas or presentations, or to be included in the distribution list, should forward such requests to david.rostker@sba.gov.  The purpose of these Roundtable meetings is to exchange opinions, facts and information and to obtain the attendees’ individual views and opinions regarding small business concerns.  The meetings are not intended to achieve or communicate any consensus positions of the attendees.

Small Business Environmental Roundtable

Issues for Discussion

September 11, 2020

EPA’s Final Risk Evaluations for Methylene Chloride and 1-Bromopropoane

EPA recently published its final risk evaluation for the first two of its 10 high-priority chemicals under the amended Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA).  On June 24, 2020 EPA published a risk evaluation for methylene chloride, finalizing determinations of unreasonable risk for 47 out of 53 evaluated conditions of uses.  These uses range from consumer and commercial uses of degreasers and automotive care products to paint removers.  On August 11, 2020 EPA published a risk evaluation for 1-bromopropoane (1-BP), finalizing determinations of unreasonable risk for 16 out of 25 evaluated conditions of uses ranging from consumer cleaning products to commercial uses in vapor degreasers, etc.  A final determination that a condition of use presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment means that the agency will have to regulate those risks, which can include use-restrictions or bans, among other options.

The agency is currently in the process of developing ways to address the identified unreasonable risks and has up to one year to propose and take public comments on any risk management actions.  Within this time frame, the agency will also have to consider whether any potential regulations for the identified risks will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities and if so, the agency will need to convene a small business advocacy review panel to seek advice and recommendations from representatives of affected small entities on the potential impact of the proposed rule.  For this reason, it is important for small business stakeholders to be informed of the conditions of use that have been determined to pose an unreasonable risk and the basis for those determinations.  At this roundtable, EPA will be providing an overview of each of the two final risk evaluations; an hour has been allotted per chemical to allow for discussion and questions. 

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