Compliance Corner: Navigating the Regulatory Realm

EPA Announced Intent to Regulate 1,3-Butadiene and 5 Phthalate Chemicals Under its TSCA Authority

In compliance with a court ordered deadline, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on December 31, 2025 that it completed a review of 1,3-butadiene under the authorities of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). In addition to research, data, and testing EPA considered input from the public and independent expert peer reviewers to complete the evaluation. The review found potential unreasonable health risks for workers who breathe in this chemical at their jobs in 11 specific industrial settings. EPA did not find unreasonable risks to the environment, or for consumers and the general population including people living near facilities. Based on these findings EPA will promulgate new regulations for the control of 1,3 butadiene exposures for workers in the 11 specific industrial settings: https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/risk-evaluation-13-butadiene.

EPA also announced based on its TSCA authority that it will move to regulate dozens of applications of five widely used phthalate chemicals to address environmental and workplace risks. This decision is based on final risk evaluations for the following chemicals: Butyl Benzyl Phthalate (BBP), Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Dicyclohexyl Phthalate (DCHP), Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP), and Diisobutyl Phthalate (DIBP), commonly used to make plastics more flexible in everything from building materials to industrial applications. EPA determined that all five chemicals pose unreasonable risks to both workers and the environment (specifically threats to fish and other aquatic life). EPA announced that it will next confer with workers, businesses, labor groups, and communities to develop targeted, practical protections that ensure worker safety and environmental protection. Personal protective equipment, engineering controls, and alternative approaches will be carefully evaluated to create effective, implementable solutions that protect those most at risk: https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/phthalates.

1,3-butadiene and many of the phthalates are hazardous air pollutants and subject to reporting under EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) program. Our AQMIS solution can be used as a central location for the compilation of records required to demonstrate compliance with air permit emission limits, TRI release data, and the TSCA risk management requirements, including exposure monitoring, described in a TSCA Workplace Chemical Protection Program. AQMIS’s Analytics and Reporting modules make multi-program compliance reporting easy!

Reach out today to learn more about how our AQMIS solution can centralize recordkeeping and reporting for chemicals with multiple regulatory program requirements.

Online AERMOD Training Course – Mar 3-4, 2026

Register today for our next available 2-day online AERMOD course taking place on March 3 and 4, 2026 from 8:30am to 5:00pm (Central Time – Chicago, USA).

Register today before space is gone!

Note: Due to the immense popularity of our online courses and small class sizes, we recommend registering and making payment as soon as possible to reserve your spot.

Online CALPUFF Course with CASANZ – March 24-27, 2026

Together with the Clean Air Society of Australia & New Zealand (CASANZ), we will hold an online CALPUFF air dispersion modeling course. Training will take place in four, 4-hour webinars from March 24 to 27, 2026 from 9:00am to 1:00pm (Australian Eastern Daylight Time) daily.

Register today!

Note: The above course will be based specifically on regulations for the Australia/New Zealand region.

Lakes Environmental Closed for Family Day Holiday

Lakes Environmental's Waterloo office will be closed on Monday, February 16, 2026, to observe Ontario’s Family Day holiday. Our Dallas office will remain open on this day. If you have any needs during that time, please e-mail us at support@webLakes.com and we will respond to your inquiry as soon as possible.

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