By eliminating fees for the TSCA database to the public and changing reporting requirements, the government is increasing public access to business’ chemical footprints.

For the first time, the EPA is providing web access, free of charge, to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Substance Inventory. This inventory contains a consolidated list of thousands of industrial chemicals that is maintained by the agency. Until now, the consolidated public portion of the TSCA Inventory has only been available by purchase from the National Technical Reports Library or other databases. The EPA is also making this information available on Data.Gov, a website developed by the Obama Administration to provide public access to important government information.

Currently, there are more than 84,000 chemicals manufactured, used or imported in the U.S. and listed on the TSCA Inventory. However, the agency is unable to publicly identify nearly 17,000 of these chemicals because they have been claimed as confidential business information under TSCA by the manufacturers. Under Administrator Jackson’s leadership, the EPA has begun a series of aggressive steps to provide greater transparency on chemical risk information, including an announcement in January that signaled the EPA’s intent to reduce a certain type of confidentiality, or Confidential Business Information (CBI) claims on the identity of chemicals.

Click here to view the current TSCA inventory.