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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 3 / Wednesday, January 6, 2021 / Rules and Regulations commenter noted that the 60-day compliance period does not allow adequate time to transition to alternatives and would effectively ban an adhesive EPAHQOPPT2019
00800558. PIP 3:1 may act as a flame retardant within a formulation to meet industry flammability standards, and while alternatives are available, time is required to recertify new formulations to the required safety standards. The requested delay is within the bounds of time periods necessary to certify products to performance and safety standards in other sectors, including the automotive sector EPAHQOPPT
201900800036. Therefore, EPA
agrees that more time is necessary to transition to available alternatives in the adhesives and sealants sector and will extend the compliance date of the restriction to four years from the publication of the final rule, which is as soon as practicable and provides a reasonable transition period, pursuant to TSCA section 6d1, while reducing exposure to the extent practicable as required by TSCA section 6h4.
EPA also clarifies that, regardless of the compliance date for the prohibition on the processing and distribution of PIP 3:1-containing adhesives and sealants, processing and distribution of PIP 3:1 for use in adhesives and sealants in new or replacement parts for automobiles or aerospace and processing and distribution of such PIP
3:1-containing adhesives and sealants are excluded from the general prohibition.
7. Specialized engine air filters for marine and locomotive applications.
In the proposal, EPA did not exclude processing or distribution in commerce of PIP 3:1 for use in specialized engine air filters for marine and locomotive applications from the prohibitions on processing and distribution. Based on a public comment EPAHQOPPT
201900800569, in this final rule, EPA
has added an exclusion from the processing and distribution prohibitions for the processing and distribution of PIP 3:1 when used in specialized engine air filters for marine and locomotive applications and the processing and distribution of such PIP
3:1-containing engine air filters.
The identified filters clean the combustion air intake for large, heavy duty industrial diesel engines, and prevent abrasive particles from entering the engines. The PIP 3:1 gel within the filters is the only identified substance able to self-extinguish in the event of sparks and to maintain its functionality at freezing temperatures. Based on information received in the comment, EPA believes that it would not be
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practicable to prohibit processing or distribution of PIP 3:1 for this use, due to the critical role of PIP 3:1 for the functionality of heavy duty industrial diesel engines important to the transportation sector, and the lack of alternatives currently in use or under development.
8. Articles made from recycled plastics.
In the proposed rule, EPA requested comment on the extent to which plastic articles containing PIP 3:1 are recycled and whether the recycling of such plastic, and the manufacture, processing, and distribution in commerce of plastic items made from such recycled plastic, should be specifically excluded from this rule.
EPA received numerous comments either supporting or opposing such exclusion, and EPA received no substantive information pertaining to PIP 3:1s presence in recycled plastics.
Therefore, EPA is excluding articles made from recycled plastics containing PIP 3:1 and to which no PIP 3:1 has been added from the prohibitions in this final rule. This exclusion will allow processing, distribution, and use of PIP
3:1 in recycled products, when no new PIP 3:1 has been added. EPA is excluding from the processing and distribution prohibitions the processing and distribution in commerce of articles and products made from recycled PIP
3:1 containing plastic that has no new PIP 3:1 added during the recycling process or added to the articles and products made from the recycled plastic. A prohibition on these processing and distribution activities would result in potentially very high costs associated with testing and compliance assurance with respect to all articles and, based on reasonably available information at this time, without meaningful exposure reductions. Because PIP 3:1s addition to plastics will be prohibited, with a certain exclusion, over time PIP 3:1
will decrease in plastics overall, and, it follows, in recycled plastics. Additional details are in the docket and the Response to Comments document Ref.
5.
9. Photographic printing articles.
EPA received one comment requesting a TSCA section 6g critical use exemption for use of PIP 3:1 in photographic printing articles. PIP 3:1
is used as a solvent in photographic paper with commercial end uses in many sectors. Domestic manufacture and processing of PIP 3:1 for use in photographic printing articles was discontinued in October 2016 Ref. 15.
However, photographic printing articles containing PIP 3:1 are already in the
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channels of U.S. trade and are intended for import through October 2020, before the required promulgation of the TSCA
section 6h final rule. As a result, the commenter requests additional time to allow for the continued processing and distribution in commerce of these articles. The commenter expects to cease import of articles containing PIP
3:1 and instead import the same product using an alternative to PIP 3:1
by October 1, 2020, and the shelf life and distribution period of existing stocks of articles is expected to be around 18 months EPAHQOPPT
201900800584. Exposure is unlikely during processing and distribution, and an immediate prohibition would require the commenter to dispose of the product all at once thereby increasing the incremental exposure from the disposal of film articles. EPA agrees an immediate prohibition is not practicable. It is costly to require disposal of articles already in the channels of U.S. trade by the time the rule is finalized and made effective, including costs for removal, disposal, and replacement. In addition, such action has potential to increase exposure by concentrating disposals in times and space, as opposed to allowing the articles to complete their natural lifecycle and be disposed of over time.
Therefore, EPA adds a compliance date of January 1, 2022, for the prohibition on processing and distribution in commerce of photographic printing articles, in order to allow time to permit existing stocks of articles to clear the channels of trade, which is as soon as practicable and provides a reasonable transition period, pursuant to TSCA
section 6d1, while reducing exposure to the extent practicable as required by TSCA section 6h4.
10. Releases to water.
EPA proposed to prohibit releases to water from the manufacturing, processing, distribution in commerce, and commercial use activities that are permitted to occur e.g., use in hydraulic fluid, use in lubricants and greases, and use in new and replacement parts for the automotive industry. EPA is finalizing this proposal with some modification to accommodate the challenges of preventing releases to water during commercial use. Manufacturing, processing, and distribution of products containing PIP 3:1 takes place in contained environments, and sometimes even closed systems. These products also are used in the field. This is particularly true in the aviation sector.
End uses of PIP 3:1 in hydraulic fluids and lubricants and greases are highly regulated, however, inadvertent releases
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