§ 702.31 General provisions.

(a) Purpose. This subpart establishes the EPA process for conducting a risk evaluation to determine whether a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment as required under TSCA section 6(b)(4)(B) (15 U.S.C. 2605(b)(4)(B)).

(b) Scope. These regulations establish the general procedures, key definitions, and timelines EPA will use in a risk evaluation conducted pursuant to TSCA section 6(b) (15 U.S.C. 2605(b)).

(c) Applicability. The requirements of this part apply to all chemical substance risk evaluations initiated pursuant to TSCA section 6(b) (15 U.S.C. 2605(b)) beginning June 3, 2024. For risk evaluations initiated prior to this date, but not yet finalized, EPA will seek to apply the requirements in this subpart to the extent practicable. These requirements shall not apply retroactively to risk evaluations already finalized.

(d) Categories of chemical substances. Consistent with EPA's authority to take action with respect to categories of chemicals under 15 U.S.C. 2625(c), all references in this part to “chemical” or “chemical substance” shall also apply to “a category of chemical substances.”