Governance & Policy
US Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
The principal United States chemicals law, requiring EPA review of new chemicals and risk management of existing substances such as asbestos and PFAS.
Definition
The Toxic Substances Control Act, enacted in 1976 and substantially reformed by the 2016 Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act, authorises the US Environmental Protection Agency to require reporting and testing of chemical substances, review new chemicals before manufacture, and ban or restrict existing chemicals that present unreasonable risk, with enforceable deadlines introduced by the 2016 reform.
Quick reference
At a glance
- Subject
- Governance & Policy
- Editorial status
- Editorial draft
- Definition status
- Established
- Last updated
- 19 August 2026
- Also known as
- TSCA · Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 · Lautenberg Act
Overview
What it means
Chemical safety in the US runs through EPA risk evaluations rather than the EU's registration-and-authorisation model.
How it is used
Manufacturers file premanufacture notices; EPA conducts risk evaluations on priority substances; downstream users track restrictions on PFAS and other high-concern chemicals.
Why it matters
It is the US counterpart to REACH and the legal channel through which chemical sustainability pressures become binding rules.
Review
Help keep this definition useful and accurate.
Submitted reviews stay private until an editor decides whether to accept and attribute them.
Contribute to this entry
How would you like to contribute?
Every endorsement and suggested edit is checked by an editor before anything changes publicly.
What happens next: we record your contribution, an editor reviews it, and we contact you if clarification is useful.