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EPA is considering amendments to certain aspects of the December 2024 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) section 6(a) rule addressing the unreasonable risk presented by carbon tetrachloride (CTC). EPA is initiating a rulemaking to amend previously promulgated provisions to address this unreasonable risk. EPA will solicit public comment on potential amendments through a notice of proposed rulemaking. Section 6 of TSCA requires EPA to address any unreasonable risk that the Administrator has determined is presented by a chemical substance under the conditions of use. Following a risk evaluation carried out under the authority of TSCA section 6(b), EPA determined that CTC presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health. EPA's risk evaluation, describing the conditions of use and presenting EPAs determinations of unreasonable risk, is in docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2019-0499, with the 2022 revised risk determination and additional information in docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0733. EPA's final rule, Carbon Tetrachloride (CTC); Regulation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), published on December 18, 2024, and is in docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-0592.

Statement of Need: As promulgated in December 2024, the TSCA risk management action addressed the unreasonable risk of injury to health presented by carbon tetrachloride under its conditions of use by requiring various workplace exposure controls for most conditions of use, prohibiting certain industrial and commercial uses, and establishing other requirements. Several legal challenges to the rule were initiated in 2025. EPA determined that the December 2024 risk management rule should be reconsidered and is initiating rulemaking efforts to seek further public comment.

Summary of the Legal Basis: Under TSCA section 6(a) (15 U.S.C. 2605(a)), if EPA determines through a TSCA section 6(b) risk evaluation that a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment under its conditions of use, EPA must by rule apply one or more requirements listed in TSCA section 6(a) to the extent necessary so that the chemical substance or mixture no longer presents such risk. Unless provided otherwise by law, an agency may change existing positions (e.g., reconsider, revise, or rescind prior actions) so long as it acknowledges the change in position, provides a reasoned explanation for the change, and takes any serious reliance interests into account. See, e.g., FDA v. Wages & White Lion Invs., L.L.C., 145 S. Ct. 898, 917 (2025); Encino Motorcars v. Navarro, 579 U.S. 211, 221 (2016); FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc., 556 U.S. 502, 515 (2009).

Alternatives: The primary alternative regulatory action to the December 2024 final rule included prescriptive workplace controls, specifically respirators and dermal PPE, for the conditions of use for which EPA had proposed a workplace chemical protection program (WCPP). The primary alternative action also included a WCPP for processing, industrial, and commercial uses of CTC that EPA had proposed to prohibit. At the time of proposal, EPA did not have reasonably available information indicating that any of the uses proposed for prohibition were ongoing. EPA requested comment on whether any of the uses the Agency proposed to prohibit are ongoing and if EPA should consider a WCPP for those conditions of use of CTC. For the industrial and commercial use of CTC as a laboratory chemical, the primary alternative regulatory action considered by EPA included the implementation of only the requirements of Direct Dermal Contact Controls of the WCPP in combination with the use of fume hoods in workplace laboratory settings and advanced engineering controls specifically for DoD's use of CTC as a laboratory chemical in chemical weapons destruction. The compliance timeframes for the controls as part of the primary alternative regulatory action were the same as the timeframes proposed. EPA's reconsideration of the December 2024 final rule will include, but may not be limited to, such considerations.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits: EPA will prepare an analysis of the incremental costs and benefits of potential regulatory changes during the rulemaking process.

Risks: As EPA determined in the TSCA section 6(b) risk evaluation, carbon tetrachloride presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health under its conditions of use. EPA must issue risk management requirements so that this chemical substance no longer presents an unreasonable risk. For more information, visit: https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/risk-management-existing-chemicals-under-tsca.