On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (the Act). Passed with significant bipartisan support, the Act is the first major update to a federal environmental statute in more than 20 years and the first update ever for the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976. This Alert provides an overview of the new law, and forthcoming alerts will dive deeper into aspects of the Act, including potential impacts to specific industries and implementation considerations.

TSCA is the federal statute that governs the manufacturing, import, and processing of virtually every chemical substance that is, or is used to make, a finished product. The new requirements of the Act will impact U.S. businesses in nearly every sector of the economy – including energy, consumer products, plastics, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and chemicals. Even companies not directly required to report, test, or restrict substances under the Act will see effects throughout their supply chain. As the Washington Post emphasized – “The president just signed a law that affects nearly every product you use."