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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 3 / Wednesday, January 6, 2021 / Rules and Regulations All Other Miscellaneous Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing NAICS Code 325998;
All Other Plastics Product Manufacturing NAICS Code 326199;
All Other Rubber Product Manufacturing NAICS Code 326299;
Cement Manufacturing NAICS
Code 327310;
Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal NAICS Code 562211;
Hazardous Waste Collection 562112;
Solid Waste Combustors and Incinerators NAICS Code 562213;
Other Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers NAICS
Code 424690;
Crude Petroleum Extraction NAICS
Code 211120;
Facilities Support Services NAICS
Code 561210;
All Other Miscellaneous Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing NAICS Code 325998.
If you have any questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the technical information contact listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
B. What is the Agencys authority for taking this action?

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Section 6h of TSCA, 15 U.S.C. 2601
et seq., directs EPA to issue a final rule under TSCA section 6a on certain persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic PBT chemical substances. HCBD
CASRN 87683, which is produced only as a byproduct in the production of chlorinated solvents, is one such chemical substance. More specifically, EPA must take action on those chemical substances identified in the 2014
Update to the TSCA Work Plan for Chemical Assessments Ref. 1 that, among other factors, EPA has a reasonable basis to conclude are toxic and that with respect to persistence and bioaccumulation score high for one and either high or moderate for the other, pursuant to the TSCA Work Plan Chemicals: Methods Document. Ref. 2
TSCA section 6h directs EPA to take expedited action on the substance to reduce exposure to the substance, including to exposure to the substance as an impurity or byproduct, to the extent practicable. This final rule is final agency action for purposes of judicial review under TSCA section 19a.
C. What action is the Agency taking?
EPA published a proposed rule on July 29, 2019 to address the five PBT
chemicals EPA identified pursuant to TSCA section 6h 84 FR 36728; FRL
999576. After publication of the
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proposed rule, EPA determined to address each of the five PBT chemicals in separate final actions. This final rule prohibits the manufacturing including import, processing, and distribution in commerce of HCBD and HCBDcontaining products or articles after March 8, 2021, except for the unintentional production of HCBD as a byproduct during the production of chlorinated solvents and the processing and distribution of the byproduct for burning as a waste fuel. In addition, after March 8, 2021, manufacturers, processors and distributors of HCBD or HCBD-containing products or articles must maintain, for three years from the date the record is generated, ordinary business records related to compliance with the prohibitions and restrictions.
This provision is not intended to require subject companies to retain records in addition to those specified herein, except as needed pursuant to normal business operations.
D. Why is the Agency taking this action?
EPA is issuing this final rule to fulfill EPAs obligations under TSCA section 6h to take timely regulatory action on PBT chemicals, including HCBD, to address the risks of injury to health or the environment that the Administrator determines are presented by the chemical substance and to reduce exposure to the substance to the extent practicable. Consistent with that requirement, the Agency is finalizing this rule to reduce exposures to HCBD
that could occur from prohibited activities to the extent practicable.
E. What are the estimated incremental impacts of this action?
EPA has evaluated the potential costs of these restrictions and prohibitions and the associated reporting and recordkeeping requirements. The Economic Analysis for Regulation of Hexachlorobutadiene HCBD Under TSCA Section 6h Economic Analysis Ref. 3, is available in the docket and is briefly summarized here.
Benefits. EPA was not able to quantify the benefits of reducing the potential for human and environmental exposures to HCBD. As discussed in more detail in Unit II., EPA did not perform a risk evaluation for HCBD, nor did EPA develop quantitative risk estimates. Therefore, the Economic Analysis Ref. 3 qualitatively discusses the benefits of reducing the potential for exposure under the final rule for HCBD.
Costs. Total quantified annualized social costs for this final rule are approximately $77,900 at both 3% and 7% discount rates. Potential unquantified costs and are those
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associated with testing, reformulation, importation of articles, foregone profits, and indirect costs. The limited data available for those costs prevents EPA
from constructing a quantitative assessment.
Small entity impacts. This final rule will impact approximately one small entity; which is not expected to incur impacts of 1% or greater of their revenue.
Environmental Justice. This final rule will increase the level of protection for all affected populations without having any disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects on any population, including any minority or low-income population or children.
Effects on State, local, and Tribal governments. This final rule will not have any significant or unique effects on small governments, or federalism or tribal implications.
F. Childrens Environmental Health Executive Order 13045 applies if the regulatory action is economically significant and concerns an environmental health risk or safety risk that may disproportionately affect children. While the action is not subject to Executive Order 13045, the Agencys Policy on Evaluating Health Risks to Children https www.epa.gov/
children/epas-policy-evaluating-riskchildren is to consider the risks to infants and children consistently and explicitly during its decision making process. This final rule will reduce the exposure that could occur from activities now prohibited under this final rule to HCBD for the general population and for potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations such as children. More information can be found in the Exposure and Use Assessment Ref. 5.
II. Background A. History of This Rulemaking TSCA section 6h requires EPA to take expedited regulatory action under TSCA section 6a for certain PBT
chemicals identified in the 2014 Update to the TSCA Work Plan for Chemical Assessments Ref. 1. As required by the statute, EPA issued a proposed rule to address five PBT chemicals identified pursuant to TSCA section 6h 84 FR
36728, July 29, 2019. The statute required that this be followed by promulgation of a final rule no later than 18 months after the proposal.
Although EPA proposed regulatory actions on each chemical substance in one proposal, in response to public comments EPAHQOPPT2019

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