EPA To Revise TSCA Risk Evaluation Framework For Existing Chemicals In 2026

In September 2025, EPA proposed significant revisions to Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk evaluation framework for existing chemicals that “rescind or revise” key elements of the framework that were finalized in May 2024 under the Biden Administration. Most notably, regarding EPA's evaluation under TSCA Section 6 as to whether an existing chemical presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, the proposed rule abandons the “whole chemical approach” adopted under the May 2024 rule that required a single risk determination for all conditions of use, in favor of the previous approach under the Trump Administration, which requires a risk evaluation for each condition of use. In addition, the proposed rule again allows EPA to assess workplace exposure risks assuming under most circumstances use of compliant personal protective equipment. The proposed rule also reinstates the definition of “weight of scientific evidence” and, consistent with the administration's policy, removes the phrase “overburdened communities” from the definition of “potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations” that EPA must consider in its risk determinations. Finally, the proposed rule removes a provision that required assessment of exposure routes and pathways regulated under other federal statutes. Accordingly, future unreasonable risk determinations can exclude exposure routes and pathways that have been or are being addressed by other EPA programs.

Comments on the proposed risk evaluation were due by November 7, 2025, and it is anticipated that EPA will issue a final rule sometime in 2026.

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