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PA ENFORCEMENT INITIATIVE GIVES EPA ADDT. DATA ON CHEM. RISKS

Release Date: 10/15/96
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PA ENFORCEMENT INITIATIVE GIVES EPA ADDT. DATA ON CHEM. RISKS

FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1996

ENFORCEMENT INITIATIVE GIVES EPA
ADDITIONAL DATA ON CHEMICAL RISKS

EPA has completed a major milestone in its efforts to gather reports of substantial risks from toxic chemicals. The Agency is closing out its one-time Compliance Audit Program (CAP) initiated under TSCA section 8(e). Congress enacted this reporting requirement so that the government would have information concerning the potential dangers of certain chemicals. Closure of the program comes five years after its inception as one of the Agency's first industry compliance incentive initiatives which offered companies substantially reduced penalties in exchange for submitting previously unreported risk information. Under the CAP program, EPA received over 11,000 previously unreported studies or reports from 89 companies on chemicals that present a substantial risk of injury to health or the environment. The Agency assessed $19,032,000 in civil penalties against 73 companies. The 73 companies will pay penalties as provided in the CAP. The remaining 16 companies are under review for appropriate enforcement action. One hundred twenty-three companies, including those engaged in chemical production and importation, petroleum refining, aerospace and electronic manufacturing, signed up under the CAP to conduct internal chemical data audits. Of those companies, 34 had no outstanding 8(e) information due the Agency. The 11,000 studies submitted during the CAP account for about 80 percent of all submissions received throughout the program's history. EPA is currently reviewing this information to determine whether particular chemicals or mixtures of chemicals warrant further assessment and regulation.

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