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EPA/OCSPP RIN: 2070-AK82 Publication ID: Fall 2024 
Title: Carbon Tetrachloride (CTC); Regulation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) 
Abstract:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to address the unreasonable risk of injury to human health presented by carbon tetrachloride (CTC) under its conditions of use as documented in EPA’s 2020 Risk Evaluation for Carbon Tetrachloride and 2022 Revised Unreasonable Risk Determination for Carbon Tetrachloride pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). CTC is a volatile, organic compound that is primarily used as a feedstock (i.e., processed as a reactant) in the making of products such as refrigerants, aerosol propellants, and foam-blowing agents. TSCA requires that EPA address by rule any unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment identified in a TSCA risk evaluation and apply requirements to the extent necessary so that the chemical no longer presents unreasonable risk. EPA determined that CTC presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health due to cancer from chronic inhalation and dermal exposures and liver toxicity from chronic inhalation, chronic dermal, and acute dermal exposures in the workplace. To address the identified unreasonable risk under TSCA, EPA proposed to establish workplace safety requirements for most conditions of use, including the condition of use related to the making of low Global Warming Potential (GWP) hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs), prohibit the manufacture (including import), processing, distribution in commerce, and industrial/commercial use of CTC for conditions of use where information indicates use of CTC has already been phased out, and establish recordkeeping and downstream notification requirements. The use of CTC in low GWP HFOs is particularly important in the Agency’s efforts to support the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020 (AIM Act) and the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, which was ratified on October 26, 2022. The Agency’s development of this rule incorporates significant stakeholder outreach and public participation. EPA engaged in discussions with industry, non-governmental organizations, other government agencies, technical experts and users of CTC, and the general public to hear from users, academics, manufacturers, and members of the public health community about practices related to commercial uses of CTC; public health impacts of CTC; the importance of CTC in the various uses subject to this proposed rule; frequently-used substitute chemicals or alternative methods or lack thereof; engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment currently in use or feasibly adoptable; and other risk-reduction approaches that may have already been adopted or considered for industrial and commercial uses. EPA conducted Federalism, Tribal, and Environmental Justice consultations and a Small Businesses Advocacy Review Panel. EPA's risk evaluation for CTC, describing CTC’s conditions of use, is in docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2019-0499, with the December 2022 unreasonable risk determination and additional information in docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0733.

 
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)  Priority: Other Significant 
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Final Rule Stage 
Major: No  Unfunded Mandates: No 
CFR Citation: 40 CFR 751   
Legal Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2605 Toxic Substances Control Act   
Legal Deadline:
Action Source Description Date
NPRM  Statutory  TSCA section 6(c).  11/04/2021 
Final  Statutory  TSCA section 6(c).  11/04/2022 
Timetable:
Action Date FR Cite
NPRM  07/28/2023  88 FR 49180   
Final Rule  12/00/2024 
Additional Information: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-0592.
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No  Government Levels Affected: Federal 
Federalism: Yes 
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No 
International Impacts: This regulatory action will be likely to have international trade and investment effects, or otherwise be of international interest.
RIN Information URL: https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/risk-management-carbon-tetrachloride  
Sectors Affected: 325 Chemical Manufacturing; 325110 Petrochemical Manufacturing; 325120 Industrial Gas Manufacturing; 325180 Other Basic Inorganic Chemical Manufacturing; 325194 Cyclic Crude, Intermediate, and Gum and Wood Chemical Manufacturing; 325199 All Other Basic Organic Chemical Manufacturing; 325211 Plastics Material and Resin Manufacturing; 325320 Pesticide and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing; 325998 All Other Miscellaneous Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing; 327 Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing; 327310 Cement Manufacturing; 327992 Ground or Treated Mineral and Earth Manufacturing; 331 Primary Metal Manufacturing; 331410 Nonferrous Metal (except Aluminum) Smelting and Refining; 562 Waste Management and Remediation Services; 562211 Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal; 562213 Solid Waste Combustors and Incinerators 
RIN Data Printed in the FR: No 
Agency Contact:
Claudia Menasche
Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Mail Code 7405M,
Washington, DC 20460
Phone:202 564-3391
Email: menasche.claudia@epa.gov

Ana Corado
Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Mail Code 7404M,
Washington, DC 20460
Phone:202 564-0140
Email: corado.ana@epa.gov