15 U.S.C. § 2608 — Relationship to other Federal laws

Page 1877 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 2608 (2) copies of any study contained on a list submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) or other- wise known by such person. (e) Notice to Administrator of substantial risks Any person who manufactures, processes, or distributes in commerce a chemical substance or mixture and who obtains information which rea- sonably supports the conclusion that such sub- stance or mixture presents a substantial risk of injury to health or the environment shall imme- diately inform the Administrator of such infor- mation unless such person has actual knowledge that the Administrator has been adequately in- formed of such information. (f) ‘‘Manufacture’’ and ‘‘process’’ defined For purposes of this section, the terms ‘‘manu- facture’’ and ‘‘process’’ mean manufacture or process for commercial purposes. (Pub. L. 94–469, title I, § 8, Oct. 11, 1976, 90 Stat. 2027; renumbered title I, Pub. L. 99–519, § 3(c)(1), Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2989; amended Pub. L. 114–182, title I, §§ 8, 19(g), June 22, 2016, 130 Stat. 470, 507; Pub. L. 116–92, div. F, title LXXIII, § 7351, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 2289.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2019—Subsec. (a)(7). Pub. L. 116–92 added par. (7). 2016—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 114–182, § 8(a)(1)(A), struck out concluding provisions which read as follows: ‘‘To the extent feasible, the Administrator shall not require under paragraph (1), any reporting which is unneces- sary or duplicative.’’ Subsec. (a)(2)(E). Pub. L. 114–182, § 19(g)(1), substituted ‘‘information’’ for ‘‘data’’. Subsec. (a)(3)(A)(ii)(I). Pub. L. 114–182, § 19(g)(2), sub- stituted ‘‘, an order in effect under section 2603 or 2604(e) of this title, or a consent agreement under sec- tion 2603 of this title’’ for ‘‘or an order in effect under section 2604(e) of this title’’. Subsec. (a)(3)(C). Pub. L. 114–182, § 8(a)(1)(B), added subpar. (C). Subsec. (a)(4) to (6). Pub. L. 114–182, § 8(a)(1)(C), added pars. (4) to (6). Subsec. (b)(3) to (9). Pub. L. 114–182, § 8(a)(2), added pars. (3) to (9). Subsec. (b)(10). Pub. L. 114–182, § 8(b), added par. (10). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Jan. 1, 1977, see section 31 of Pub. L. 94–469, set out as a note under section 2601 of this title. ASBESTOS INFORMATION Pub. L. 100–577, Oct. 31, 1988, 102 Stat. 2901, provided that: ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. ‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘Asbestos Information Act of 1988’. ‘‘SEC. 2. SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION BY MANU- FACTURERS. ‘‘Within 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 31, 1988], any person who manufactured or processed, before the date of the enactment of this Act, asbestos or asbestos-containing material that was pre- pared for sale for use as surfacing material, thermal system insulation, or miscellaneous material in build- ings (or whose corporate predecessor manufactured or processed such asbestos or material) shall submit to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency the years of manufacture, the types or classes of product, and, to the extent available, other identi- fying characteristics reasonably necessary to identify or distinguish the asbestos or asbestos-containing ma- terial. Such person also may submit to the Adminis- trator protocols for samples of asbestos and asbestos- containing material. ‘‘SEC. 3. PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION. ‘‘Within 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 31, 1988], the Administrator shall publish a notice in the Federal Register that explains how, when, and where the information specified in section 2 is to be submitted. The Administrator shall receive and organize the information submitted under section 2 and, within 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, shall publish the information. In carrying out this section, the Administrator may not— ‘‘(1) review the information submitted under sec- tion 2 for accuracy, or ‘‘(2) analyze such information to determine whether it is reasonably necessary to identify or distinguish the particular asbestos or asbestos-containing mate- rial. ‘‘SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. ‘‘In this Act: ‘‘(1) The term ‘asbestos’ means— ‘‘(A) chrysotile, amosite, or crocidolite, or ‘‘(B) in fibrous form, tremolite, anthophyllite, or actinolite. ‘‘(2) The term ‘asbestos-containing material’ means any material containing more than one percent as- bestos by weight. ‘‘(3) The term ‘identifying characteristics’ means a description of asbestos or asbestos-containing mate- rial, including— ‘‘(A) the mineral or chemical constituents (or both) of the asbestos or material by weight or vol- ume (or both), ‘‘(B) the types or classes of the product in which the asbestos or material is contained, ‘‘(C) the designs, patterns, or textures of the prod- uct in which the asbestos or material is contained, and ‘‘(D) the means by which the product in which the asbestos or material is contained may be distin- guishable from other products containing asbestos or asbestos-containing material. ‘‘(4) The term ‘miscellaneous material’ means building material on structural components, struc- tural members, or fixtures, such as floor and ceiling tiles. The term does not include surfacing material or thermal system insulation. ‘‘(5) The term ‘protocol’ means any procedure for taking, handling, and preserving samples of asbestos and asbestos-containing material and for testing and analyzing such samples for the purpose of deter- mining the person who manufactured or processed for sale such samples and the identifying characteristics of such samples. ‘‘(6) The term ‘surfacing material’ means material in a building that is sprayed on surfaces, troweled on surfaces, or otherwise applied to surfaces for acous- tical, fireproofing, or other purposes, such as acous- tical plaster on ceilings and fireproofing material on structural members. ‘‘(7) The term ‘thermal system insulation’ means material in a building applied to pipes, fittings, boil- ers, breeching, tanks, ducts, or other structural com- ponents to prevent heat loss or gain or water con- densation, or for other purposes.’’ § 2608. Relationship to other Federal laws (a) Laws not administered by the Administrator (1) If the Administrator determines that the manufacture, processing, distribution in com- merce, use, or disposal of a chemical substance or mixture, or that any combination of such ac- Page 1878 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 2608 tivities, presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, without consider- ation of costs or other nonrisk factors, including an unreasonable risk to a potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulation identified as relevant by the Administrator, under the conditions of use, and determines, in the Administrator’s dis- cretion, that such risk may be prevented or re- duced to a sufficient extent by action taken under a Federal law not administered by the Ad- ministrator, the Administrator shall submit to the agency which administers such law a report which describes such risk and includes in such description a specification of the activity or combination of activities which the Adminis- trator has reason to believe so presents such risk. Such report shall also request such agen- cy— (A)(i) to determine if the risk described in such report may be prevented or reduced to a sufficient extent by action taken under such law, and (ii) if the agency determines that such risk may be so prevented or reduced, to issue an order declaring whether or not the activity or combination of activities specified in the de- scription of such risk presents such risk; and (B) to respond to the Administrator with re- spect to the matters described in subpara- graph (A). Any report of the Administrator shall include a detailed statement of the information on which it is based and shall be published in the Federal Register. The agency receiving a request under such a report shall make the requested deter- mination, issue the requested order, and make the requested response within such time as the Administrator specifies in the request, but such time specified may not be less than 90 days from the date the request was made. The response of an agency shall be accompanied by a detailed statement of the findings and conclusions of the agency and shall be published in the Federal Register. (2) If the Administrator makes a report under paragraph (1) with respect to a chemical sub- stance or mixture and the agency to which such report was made either— (A) issues an order, within the time period specified by the Administrator in the report, declaring that the activity or combination of activities specified in the description of the risk described in the report does not present the risk described in the report, or (B) responds within the time period specified by the Administrator in the report and initi- ates, within 90 days of the publication in the Federal Register of the response of the agency under paragraph (1), action under the law (or laws) administered by such agency to protect against such risk associated with such activ- ity or combination of activities, the Administrator may not take any action under section 2605(a) or 2606 of this title with re- spect to such risk. (3) The Administrator shall take the actions described in paragraph (4) if the Administrator makes a report under paragraph (1) with respect to a chemical substance or mixture and the agency to which the report was made does not— (A) issue the order described in paragraph (2)(A) within the time period specified by the Administrator in the report; or (B)(i) respond under paragraph (1) within the timeframe specified by the Administrator in the report; and (ii) initiate action within 90 days of publica- tion in the Federal Register of the response described in clause (i). (4) If an agency to which a report is submitted under paragraph (1) does not take the actions described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of para- graph (3), the Administrator shall— (A) initiate or complete appropriate action under section 2605(a) of this title; or (B) take any action authorized or required under section 2606 of this title, as applicable. (5) This subsection shall not relieve the Ad- ministrator of any obligation to take any appro- priate action under section 2605(a) or 2606 of this title to address risks from the manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, use, or disposal of a chemical substance or mixture, or any combination of those activities, that are not identified in a report issued by the Adminis- trator under paragraph (1). (6) If the Administrator has initiated action under section 2605(a) or 2606 of this title with re- spect to a risk associated with a chemical sub- stance or mixture which was the subject of a re- port made to an agency under paragraph (1), such agency shall before taking action under the law (or laws) administered by it to protect against such risk consult with the Adminis- trator for the purpose of avoiding duplication of Federal action against such risk. (b) Laws administered by the Administrator (1) The Administrator shall coordinate actions taken under this chapter with actions taken under other Federal laws administered in whole or in part by the Administrator. If the Adminis- trator determines that a risk to health or the environment associated with a chemical sub- stance or mixture could be eliminated or re- duced to a sufficient extent by actions taken under the authorities contained in such other Federal laws, the Administrator shall use such authorities to protect against such risk unless the Administrator determines, in the Adminis- trator’s discretion, that it is in the public inter- est to protect against such risk by actions taken under this chapter. This subsection shall not be construed to relieve the Administrator of any requirement imposed on the Administrator by such other Federal laws. (2) In making a determination under para- graph (1) that it is in the public interest for the Administrator to take an action under this sub- chapter with respect to a chemical substance or mixture rather than under another law adminis- tered in whole or in part by the Administrator, the Administrator shall consider, based on infor- mation reasonably available to the Adminis- trator, all relevant aspects of the risk described in paragraph (1) and a comparison of the esti- mated costs and efficiencies of the action to be taken under this subchapter and an action to be taken under such other law to protect against such risk. Page 1879 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 2609 (c) Occupational safety and health In exercising any authority under this chap- ter, the Administrator shall not, for purposes of section 653(b)(1) of title 29, be deemed to be exer- cising statutory authority to prescribe or en- force standards or regulations affecting occupa- tional safety and health. (d) Coordination In administering this chapter, the Adminis- trator shall consult and coordinate with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the heads of any other appropriate Federal execu- tive department or agency, any relevant inde- pendent regulatory agency, and any other appro- priate instrumentality of the Federal Govern- ment for the purpose of achieving the maximum enforcement of this chapter while imposing the least burdens of duplicative requirements on those subject to the chapter and for other pur- poses. The Administrator shall, in the report re- quired by section 2629 of this title, report annu- ally to the Congress on actions taken to coordi- nate with such other Federal departments, agen- cies, or instrumentalities, and on actions taken to coordinate the authority under this chapter with the authority granted under other Acts re- ferred to in subsection (b). (e) Exposure information In addition to the requirements of subsection (a), if the Administrator obtains information re- lated to exposures or releases of a chemical sub- stance or mixture that may be prevented or re- duced under another Federal law, including a law not administered by the Administrator, the Administrator shall make such information available to the relevant Federal agency or of- fice of the Environmental Protection Agency. (Pub. L. 94–469, title I, § 9, Oct. 11, 1976, 90 Stat. 2030; renumbered title I, Pub. L. 99–519, § 3(c)(1), Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2989; amended Pub. L. 114–182, title I, §§ 9, 19(h), June 22, 2016, 130 Stat. 476, 507.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2016—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 114–182, § 19(h)(1), sub- stituted ‘‘section 2605(a)’’ for ‘‘section 2605’’ wherever appearing. Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 114–182, § 9(1)(A), in introduc- tory provisions, substituted ‘‘determines’’ for ‘‘has rea- sonable basis to conclude’’, struck out ‘‘or will present’’ after ‘‘presents’’, and inserted ‘‘, without con- sideration of costs or other nonrisk factors, including an unreasonable risk to a potentially exposed or sus- ceptible subpopulation identified as relevant by the Ad- ministrator, under the conditions of use,’’ after ‘‘or the environment’’. Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 114–182, § 9(1)(B)(i), inserted ‘‘, within the time period specified by the Adminis- trator in the report,’’ after ‘‘issues an order’’. Subsec. (a)(2)(B). Pub. L. 114–182, § 9(1)(B)(ii), inserted ‘‘responds within the time period specified by the Ad- ministrator in the report and’’ before ‘‘initiates, within 90’’. Subsec. (a)(3) to (6). Pub. L. 114–182, § 9(1)(C), (D), added pars. (3) to (5) and redesignated former par. (3) as (6). Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 114–182, § 9(2), designated existing provisions as par. (1) and added par. (2). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 114–182, § 19(h)(2), substituted ‘‘Health and Human Services’’ for ‘‘Health, Education, and Welfare’’. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 114–182, § 9(3), added subsec. (e). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Jan. 1, 1977, see section 31 of Pub. L. 94–469, set out as a note under section 2601 of this title. TERMINATION OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS For termination, effective May 15, 2000, of provisions in subsec. (d) of this section relating to reporting cer- tain coordinating actions annually to Congress in the report required by section 2629 of this title, see section 3003 of Pub. L. 104–66, as amended, set out as a note under section 1113 of Title 31, Money and Finance, and page 163 of House Document No. 103–7. § 2609. Research, development, collection, dis- semination, and utilization of information (a) Authority The Administrator shall, in consultation and cooperation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and with other heads of appro- priate departments and agencies, conduct such research, development, and monitoring as is necessary to carry out the purposes of this chap- ter. The Administrator may enter into contracts and may make grants for research, development, and monitoring under this subsection. Contracts may be entered into under this subsection with- out regard to section 3324(a) and (b) of title 31 and section 6101 of title 41. (b) Information systems (1) The Administrator shall establish, admin- ister, and be responsible for the continuing ac- tivities of an interagency committee which shall design, establish, and coordinate an efficient and effective system, within the Environmental Protection Agency, for the collection, dissemi- nation to other Federal departments and agen- cies, and use of information submitted to the Administrator under this chapter. (2)(A) The Administrator shall, in consulta- tion and cooperation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and other heads of appropriate departments and agencies design, establish, and coordinate an efficient and effec- tive system for the retrieval of toxicological and other scientific information which could be use- ful to the Administrator in carrying out the pur- poses of this chapter. Systematized retrieval shall be developed for use by all Federal and other departments and agencies with respon- sibilities in the area of regulation or study of chemical substances and mixtures and their ef- fect on health or the environment. (B) The Administrator, in consultation and co- operation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, may make grants and enter into contracts for the development of an infor- mation retrieval system described in subpara- graph (A). Contracts may be entered into under this subparagraph without regard to section 3324(a) and (b) of title 31 and section 6101 of title 41. (c) Screening techniques The Administrator shall coordinate, with the Assistant Secretary for Health of the Depart- ment of Health and Human Services, research undertaken by the Administrator and directed