Compliance Guide Available for TSCA Workplace Chemical Protection Program Requirements

EPA recently released a resource intended to help companies comply with requirements for a workplace chemical protection program, or WCPP, under the Toxic Substances Control Act. The WCPP is intended to address unreasonable risk posed by chemical exposures to people in occupational environments.

The audience for the guide includes businesses that manufacture, import, process, use, distribute, or dispose of a chemical regulated under TSCA. Among the topics addressed in the guide are EPA’s existing chemical exposure limits (ECELs) and short-term exposure limits (STELs); ECEL action levels; occupational exposure monitoring; respirators; and personal protective equipment. The guide provides instructions for calculating time-weighted averages for ECELs and STELs, how to conduct initial and periodic monitoring, and how to implement a PPE program and an exposure control plan.

WCPPs are features of recent EPA risk management rules. EPA advises employers that the WCPP compliance guide offers general information and that they should also refer to the substance-specific rules for risk management requirements. In addition, the agency has published compliance guides for specific substances including methylene chloride, trichloroethylene, and certain uses of perchloroethylene.

The compliance guide is available as a PDF from the EPA website. For more information, refer to the agency’s announcement dated Jan. 16. For guidance on specific substances, visit EPA’s webpages for methylene chloride, trichloroethylene, and perchloroethylene.