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8(E) TRIAGE CHEMICAL STUDIES DATABASE (TSCA)
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The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) gives the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority and responsibility to identify and control chemical hazards to human health or the environment. TSCA gives the EPA authority to gather certain kinds of basic information on chemical risks from those who manufacture and process chemicals. The law also enables EPA to require companies to test selected existing chemicals for toxic effects, and requires the Agency to review most new chemicals before they are manufactured. To prevent unreasonable risks, EPA may select from a broad range of control actions under TSCA. One important information gathering tool under TSCA is found in Section 8(e). Under Section 8(e), manufacturers, importers, and distributors of chemical substances and mixtures are required to inform EPA of studies that reasonably support the conclusion that the chemicals present a substantial risk of injury to human health or the environment. Version 1.0 of the Database, released in October 1993, consisted of approximately 6,000studies which had been reviewed to date. The recent version of the Triage Database, released February 1995, includes an additional 4,000 studies that have recently been reviewed by EPA for a total of 10,000 studies. The revised version also provides a more user-friendly installation. In addition, Chemical Fact Sheets are incorporated into the Database to provide the user with more information about those chemicals. These Fact Sheets are being developed for a separate program; as additional 8(e)chemicals are completed, they too will be incorporated into the Database.