The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing advance notice and review for specified new uses of certain chemical substances already subject to federal orders. If the rules are finalized as proposed, manufacturers, importers and processors planning those uses would have to notify the agency at least 90 days before starting.
The EPA is accepting comments through December 2, 2026. The November 2 Federal Register notice is a proposal; it does not itself finalize the new-use rules.
What the proposal would do
The substances were the subject of premanufacture notices and orders under the Toxic Substances Control Act. EPA says the orders require protective measures to limit exposure or otherwise address potential unreasonable risk. The proposed rules would identify activities that do not conform to those orders' restrictions as significant new uses.
For a designated use, the notice would start an EPA review. Manufacture, including import, or processing for that use could not begin until the agency has reviewed the notification, made the appropriate determination and taken any required action. EPA says a significant new use rule is a notification requirement, not itself a risk determination.
One example
For one listed tin compound, the premanufacture notice describes use as a catalyst in sealants and adhesives. EPA says the existing order requires protective equipment where skin exposure is possible and permits manufacture, processing and use only in a manner that does not result in inhalation exposure. Processing for use and use in a consumer product are permitted only if the compound's concentration is less than 1% by weight in the product. The order also requires no release of the substance or waste streams containing it to water and a hazard communication program. The proposal would designate the absence of these protective measures as a significant new use.
The agency describes substance-specific concerns and controls in the proposal. It does not establish that an injury occurred or that every use of these chemicals is banned.
How to comment
EPA asks for comments through Regulations.gov using docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2026-5974, received on or before December 2. The notice says not to submit confidential business information electronically through the portal or by email; it provides separate instructions for submitting such information.