Test rules enforcement

Chemical exporters are potentially subject to Section 12(b) of TSCA. EPA s TSCA Section 12(b) export notification requirements apply to chemical substances or mixtures for which data are required under TSCA Section 5(b), an order has been issued under TSCA Section 5, a proposed or final rule has been issued under TSCA Sections 5 or 6, or an action is pending or relief has been granted under TSCA Sections 5 or 7. With regard to Section 4 of TSCA, only those chemical substances or mixtures listed in final TSCA Section 4 test rules and TSCA Section 4 Enforceable Consent Agreements are subject to the export notice requirements under TSCA Section 12(b). Notification of export is generally not required for articles, as provided by 40 CFR section 707.60(b). 

The statute states that 12 applies if the substance presents an unreasonable risk. Export notification requirements are triggered by a finding of unreasonable risk under 6. and also by a test rule under 4 or a consent order under 5. Neither a test rule under 4 nor a consent order under 5 constitutes a finding of unreasonable risk. Therefore, would be statutory defenses to an EPA enforcement based on failure to submit export notifications for substances for export only if the requirement for submitting an export notification were triggered by a test rule under 4 or a consent order under 5. 

As a practical matter, the EPA takes a very long time to promulgate a test rule. For example, the EPA issued a test rule covering 34 chemicals that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was concerned about because of skin absorption. That rule was effective May 26, 2004. However, OSHA had first sent a list of chemicals to the ITC in 1991, with a request that the ITC review the data available concerning skin absorption. The ITC first designated 84 of those chemicals in 1993. The EPA issued PAIR and TSCA 8(d) rules in 1993, 1994, and 1995, and subsequently entered into a voluntary enforceable consent agreement for testing one chemical. EPA proposed the test rule in 1999 and finalized it five years later. 

EPA, Enforcement Response Poficy for TSCA 4 Test Rules. (May 28, 1986), available at http //www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/policies/civil/tsca/tscasec4ruleserp-052886.pdf. 

EPA, Office of Compliance Monitoring, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances. Enforcement Response Policy for Test Rules Under Section 4 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (May 28,1986). 

Hair colorants, the fourth class of color additives, may be used only to color scalp hair and may not be used in the area of the eye. Use of these colorants is exempt, that is, coal-tar hair dyes may be sold with cautionary labeling, directions for preliminary (patch) testing, and restrictions against use in or near the eye. The EDA diligently enforces the rules governing color additives and limits the use of, or even dehsts colorants deemed unsafe. The Hst of substances specifically prohibited for use in cosmetics is short. 

In Ferguson v. City of Charleston, the U.S. Supreme Court declares that forcing pregnant patients in a state hospital to take drug tests and turning the results over to law enforcement authorities violated the Fourth Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court rules that use of infrared imaging systems to search for evidence of a marijuana-growing operation in a home violates the expectation of privacy provided for in the Fourth Amendment. 

Textile definitions most generally accepted for reference in the United States are those standardized by the American Society for Testing Materials and published in ASTM Standards on Textile Materials (W, 25). The Federal Trade Commission has also established definitions for use in enforcing its Trade Practice Rulings 20). These may differ from the ASTM definitions—for example, the ASTM restricts its definition of wool to the fiber from the fleece of the sheep, whereas the Federal Trade Commission defines it as the fiber from the fleece of the sheep or lamb or hair of the Angora or Cashmere goat (and may include the so-called specialty fibers from the hair of the camel, alpaca, llama, and vicuna). ... 

Each school district should have a policy for authorizing drivers to perform the task of transporting stndents within the pupil transportation system. CDL licensing processes have licensing authorization rules that need to be enforced within the local school district or the contracted provider. States or local school entities may have rules based on medical authorization on yearly basis or dmg-use testing polices or protocol. School administrators will need to maintain records of anthorization on a yearly basis for pnpil transportation drivers. School transportation administrators should engage in continuous professional education and should be certified in industry practices and knowledge. 

---