EPA Proposes New-Use Rules for 19 Chemical Substances: 90-Day Notice Required Before Graphene and Other Listed Uses Begin
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed significant new use rules (SNURs), published in the Federal Register on November 2 (91 FR 68894, Document No. 2026-22295), for 19 chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMNs) and are also subject to orders EPA issued under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The proposal would add sections 721.12320 through 721.12338 to subpart E of 40 CFR part 721. Once finalized, anyone intending to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or process any of these substances for an activity designated as a significant new use would have to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing that activity.
According to the proposal, the notification initiates EPA's evaluation of the use before manufacture or processing begins. If EPA finds the activity is not likely to present an unreasonable risk, it will notify the submitter that the activity satisfies the statement of terms of the underlying order; if it finds the activity may present an unreasonable risk, EPA will take action. The existing orders impose protective restrictions on the companies that filed the original notices, and the proposal extends the same framework to other manufacturers and processors: uses that do not conform to the terms of the orders would be designated as significant new uses.
Among the publicly identifiable substances are graphene platelets (section 721.12333), graphene oxide (two entries, under separate premanufacture notices), a tin compound used as a catalyst in sealants and adhesives (section 721.12321), and two photoacid generators (an aromatic sulfonium salt and an aromatic carboxylic acid salt polymer, sections 721.12337 and 721.12338, whose stated use is as photoacid generators in photoresist coating preparations). The remaining entries include functionalized fatty acids, maleated high-oleic sunflower oil and siloxanes, with several other substances listed only under generic names because their identities are claimed as confidential business information.
EPA estimates that each significant new use notice (SNUN) would cost about $45,496 for a large business submitter and $19,496 for a small business submitter, and estimates total compliance costs of $10,583 to $29,318, assuming one to five firms submit notices. An export notification is estimated at $440 for the first notice and $110 for each additional one.
The proposal was signed on October 28 by Mary Elissa Reaves, Director of EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, under docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2026-5974 and RIN 2070-AB27. Comments must be received on or before December 2, 2026. Until the rules are finalized, the restrictions in the existing orders remain in effect.
(Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国环境保护署总部 WJ Clinton Building 正门（固定图库）。公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Main entrance of EPA headquarters, the WJ Clinton Building (file photo). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
