The Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) was signed into law in 1976. It was the end result of six years of negotiations, and does little to actually help protect people. This law regulates which hazardous chemicals may and may not be used. It is the only law which governs the legality of specific substances, and it places the entire burden of testing on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

To make matters worse, there is only a 90 day window for the EPA to determine if a hazardous chemical poses “unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment.” If the EPA cannot test the substance, review the data, and come up with conclusive evidence that a substance should be banned during that time, it will, instead, be released for mass production. This system does not work; in the 23 years since 1990, less than 200 of the 62,000 chemicals currently in use were tested by the EPA. Of those chemicals, only 5 have been banned.

Obviously, something more had to be done. For these reasons, OSHA created Standard 1910.120, Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER). OSHA has no oversight to test or ban specific chemicals, so instead OSHA created this standard to regulate the handling, transportation, and destruction of these substances. Closely following this standard is the only way to ensure employee safety in relation to the many dangerous substances used on a daily basis all across the country which have never truly been tested for safety.

If your company uses any hazardous chemicals, it is imperative you ensure that your procedures follow the HAZWOPER guidelines perfectly. Should you have any questions about the standard or about your procedures, please contact us so that we can help you. If you have anything to add about TSCA or HAZWOPER, please leave a comment.