Today, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) Director Wendy Cleland-Hamnett announced the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to withdraw the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(d) immediate final rule published on December 3, 2012. According to EPA’s letter responding to various entities’ request for either withdrawal or an extension of time within which to persuade EPA to remove the listing of cadmium and cadmium compounds from the model 8(d) rule, it recognized that the final rule created “significant confusion and uncertainty within certain industrial sectors” over “the scope and extent of the immediate final rule.” EPA will announce the withdrawal in the Federal Register, no later than January 2, 2013, the original effective date of the final rule. EPA is to be commended for its swift and decisive action.
