April
23,
2003
Supporting
Statement
for
a
Request
for
OMB
Review
under
the
Paperwork
Reduction
Act
1
IDENTIFICATION
OF
THE
INFORMATION
COLLECTION
1(
a)
Title
and
Number
of
the
Information
Collection
Title:
Notification
of
Chemical
Exports
­
TSCA
Section
12(
b)

EPA
ICR
No.
0795.11
OMB
Control
No.
2070­
0030
1(
b)
Short
Characterization
Section
12(
b)(
2)
of
the
Toxic
Substances
Control
Act
states,
in
part,
that
any
person
who
exports
or
intends
to
export
to
a
foreign
country
a
chemical
substance
or
mixture
for
which
submission
of
data
is
required
under
section
4
or
5(
b),
or
for
which
a
rule,
action
or
order
has
been
proposed
or
promulgated
under
section
5,
6,
or
7,
shall
notify
the
EPA
Administrator
of
such
export
or
intent
to
export.
The
Administrator
in
turn
will
notify
the
government
of
the
importing
country
of
EPA's
regulatory
action
with
respect
to
the
substance.

On
December
16,
1980,
EPA
promulgated
a
rule
at
40
CFR
Part
707,
Subpart
D
that
provided
final
guidance
for
section
12(
b)
(
45
FR
82844).
This
final
rule
requires
exporters
to
submit
an
annual
notice
for
each
country
to
which
a
chemical
subject
to
section
12(
b)
requirements
is
exported.
On
July
27,
1993
(
58
FR
40238),
EPA
issued
a
final
rule,
which
amended
the
December
16,
1980
rule,
for
chemicals
subject
to
section
4
test
rules
by
requiring
exporters
to
submit
a
one­
time
notice
to
EPA
for
export
of
a
section
4
chemical
to
a
particular
country,
instead
of
annual
notification.
There
are
no
changes
in
reporting
requirements
for
sections
5,
6
and
7
of
TSCA.

The
export
notice
must
include
five
easily
ascertainable
items:
the
name
and
address
of
the
exporter,
the
name
of
the
chemical,
the
country
of
import,
the
date
of
export
or
intended
export,
and
the
section
of
TSCA
under
which
EPA
has
taken
action
(
4,
5,
6
or
7).
There
are
currently
over
1,000
substances
or
categories
of
substances
that
have
been
regulated
or
proposed
to
be
regulated
under
the
applicable
sections
of
TSCA.

1(
c)
Potential
Future
EPA
Actions
Affecting
this
Information
Collection
The
purpose
of
this
section
is
to
identify
EPA
actions
that
are
anticipated
to
occur
during
the
collection
period
that
could
affect
the
information
requirements
and
burden.
Of
course,
should
any
of
these
anticipated
actions
impact
this
ICR,
EPA
will
follow
appropriate
procedures
to
amend
this
ICR,
as
appropriate.

On
October
9,
1998,
EPA
announced
the
High
Production
Volume
Chemical
(
HPV)
Challenge
Program.
The
HPV
Program
is
a
key
element
of
the
Chemical
Right­
to­
Know
(
Chem­
Page
2
RTK)
initiative
announced
on
the
eve
of
Earth
Day
1998.
The
Chem­
RTK
initiative
challenges
government,
industry
and
the
environmental
community
to
develop
aggressive
strategies
that
will
rapidly
fill
the
gaps
in
our
understanding
about
the
potential
health
and
environmental
effects
associated
with
chemicals
used
widely
in
our
communities
and
make
this
information
easily
accessible
to
the
public.

The
HPV
Challenge
Program
is
a
major
new
voluntary
chemical
testing
effort
created
to
ensure
that
a
complete
set
of
baseline
health
and
environmental
effects
screening
data
on
thousands
of
HPV
industrial
chemicals
is
made
available
to
the
public.
Industry
groups
have
committed
to
sponsor
to
compiling
the
basic
information
for
2,100
of
the
2,800
HPV
chemicals.
HPV
chemicals
are
defined
as
those
that
are
manufactured
in,
or
imported
into,
the
United
States
in
amounts
exceeding
1
million
pounds
per
year.

For
those
chemicals
not
selected
by
companies
for
voluntary
testing,
EPA
will
promulgate
test
rules,
using
the
testing
authorities
contained
in
section
4
of
TSCA.
EPA
proposed
rulemaking
for
37
of
the
HPV
chemicals
on
December
26,
2000.
At
the
time
of
this
rulemaking,
EPA
expects
to
publish
a
final
rule
for
approximately
25
of
these
chemicals
during
the
fourth
quarter
of
FY
2003.
The
chemicals
included
in
the
final
rulemaking
will
be
subject
to
section
12(
b)
export
notification
requirements.
EPA
anticipates
that
this
will
result
in
an
increase
of
the
information
collection
burden
for
section
12(
b)
that
is
presented
in
this
ICR.
The
calculation
for
the
increased
burden
will
likely
be
a
straightforward
multiplication
of
number
of
chemicals
not
currently
subject
to
section
12(
b)
requirements
by
the
average
number
of
hours
and
associated
cost.

Additionally,
EPA
proposed
a
TSCA
section
4
test
rule
for
47
chemicals
of
interest
to
OSHA
on
June
9,
1999.
EPA
expects
to
publish
the
final
rule
during
the
third
quarter
of
FY
2003.
The
chemicals
included
in
the
final
rulemaking
will
be
subject
to
the
section
12(
b)
export
notification
requirements.
EPA
anticipates
that
this
will
result
in
an
increase
of
the
information
collection
burden
for
section
12(
b)
that
is
presented
in
this
ICR.
The
calculation
for
the
increased
burden
will
likely
be
a
straightforward
multiplication
of
number
of
chemicals
not
currently
subject
to
section
12(
b)
requirements
by
the
average
number
of
hours
and
associated
cost.

The
Office
of
Pollution
Prevention
and
Toxics
(
OPPT)
recently
developed
a
new
centralized
publicly
available
database
and
website
for
chemical
substances
subject
to
TSCA
section
12(
b)
export
notification
requirements
(
see
"
Current
List
of
Chemical
Substances
Subject
to
TSCA
Section12(
b)
Export
Notification
Requirements"
at
http://
www.
epa.
gov/
opptintr/
chemtest/
main12b.
htm).
In
addition,
chemical
substances
subject
to
TSCA
section
4
actions
"
sunset"
after
a
specific
period
of
time
(
see
"
Sunset
Date/
Status
of
TSCA
Section
4
Testing,
Reimbursement,
and
Reporting
Requirements
and
TSCA
Section
4­
Triggered
TSCA
Section
12(
b)
Export
Notification
Requirements"
at
http://
www.
epa.
gov/
opptintr/
chemtest/
sunset.
htm).
EPA
believes
that
this
activity,
long
recommended
by
industry,
will
help
to
reduce
the
information
collection
burden
for
section
12(
b)
export
notification
that
is
presented
in
this
ICR.
At
present,
however,
EPA
has
not
attempted
to
calculate
a
related
reduction
in
burden
at
this
time.

In
order
to
further
facilitate
consideration
of
improvements
to
the
TSCA
section
12(
b)
Page
3
export
notification
program,
EPA
intends
to
hold
a
Public
Meeting
in
the
fourth
quarter
of
FY2003,
and
will
invite
interested
parties
to
participate
in
developing
amendments
to
the
current
TSCA
section
12(
b)
regulation.
EPA
initiated
a
similar
process
when
it
found
that
there
was
a
reasonable
basis
for
amending
TSCA
section
8(
d)
regulations
that
it
believes
was
quite
successful
in
streamlining
that
reporting
requirement.

2
NEED
FOR
AND
USE
OF
THE
COLLECTION
2(
a)
Need/
Authority
for
the
Collection
TSCA
section
12(
b)(
2)
requires
exporters
to
submit
a
notice
for
each
country
to
which
a
chemical
subject
to
section
12(
b)
requirements
is
exported.
Specifically,
section
12(
b)(
2)
states,
in
part,
that
any
person
who
exports
or
intends
to
export
to
a
foreign
country
a
chemical
substance
or
mixture
for
which
submission
of
data
is
required
under
section
4
or
5(
b),
or
for
which
a
rule,
action
or
order
has
been
proposed
or
promulgated
under
section
5,
6,
or
7,
shall
notify
the
EPA
Administrator
of
such
export
or
intent
to
export.
The
Administrator
in
turn
will
notify
the
government
of
the
importing
country
of
EPA's
regulatory
action
with
respect
to
the
substance.
See
Attachment
1
for
exact
language
of
TSCA
section
12(
b),
15
U.
S.
C.
2611(
b)(
2).

Regulations
implementing
the
statutory
mandate
in
TSCA
section12(
b)
appear
in
40
CFR
Part
707,
Subpart
D,
and
include
the
following
additional
provisions:

(
a)
No
notice
of
export
will
be
required
for
articles,
except
PCB
articles,
unless
the
Agency
so
requires
in
the
context
of
individual
section
5,
6,
or
7
actions.

(
b)
Any
person
who
exports
or
intends
to
export
polychlorinated
biphenyls
(
PCBs)
or
PCB
articles,
for
any
purpose
other
than
disposal,
shall
notify
EPA
of
such
intent
or
exportation
under
section
12(
b).
PCBs
and
PCB
articles
have
the
definitions
published
in
40
CFR
761.3.

(
c)
Any
person
who
would
be
prohibited
by
a
section
5
or
6
regulation
from
exporting
a
chemical
substance
or
mixture,
but
who
is
granted
an
exemption
by
EPA
to
export
that
chemical
substance
or
mixture,
shall
notify
EPA
under
section
12(
b)
of
such
intent
to
export
or
exportation.

(
d)
An
exporter
will
be
subject
to
possible
enforcement
action
(
including
penalties)
for
not
complying
with
the
applicable
provisions
of
section
12(
b).

The
full
text
of
40
CFR
part
707
is
provided
in
Attachment
2.

2(
b)
Use/
Users
of
The
Data
As
required
by
TSCA
section
12(
b),
the
Administrator
will
use
the
information
collected
under
this
ICR
to
furnish
the
required
notice
to
the
government
of
the
importing
country.
The
importing
country
typically
uses
the
information
provided
to
ensure
that
chemicals
imported
into
their
country
comply
with
their
laws
and
regulations.
Page
4
3
NON­
DUPLICATION,
CONSULTATIONS,
AND
OTHER
COLLECTION
CRITERIA
3(
a)
Non­
Duplication
The
exporter
submits
one
notice
to
EPA.
There
is
no
duplication
of
this
mandate
or
collection
activity,
and
no
alternate
sources
for
the
Agency
to
obtain
the
information
necessary
to
satisfy
the
statutory
mandate.

The
Agency
carefully
considered
alternatives
to
imposing
a
notification
requirement
on
the
chemical
exporters,
but
no
alternate
sources
were
identified.
Prior
to
promulgating
the
section
12(
b)
rule,
EPA
considered
the
possibility
of
using
export
data
gathered
by
the
Bureau
of
the
Census
in
lieu
of
imposing
notification
requirements
in
a
section
12(
b)
rule.
However,
several
problems
with
the
Census
data
continue
to
make
such
an
approach
impractical.
These
problems
include,
among
others,
the
fact
that
Census
data
are
often
not
chemical­
specific;
Census
exempts
certain
shipments
and
exporters
that
are
not
exempt
from
section
12(
b)
notifications;
and
Census
data
would
not
be
available
for
up
to
eight
weeks
following
export,
a
delay
that
would
prevent
EPA
from
providing
an
importing
government
the
timely
notice
required
by
section
12(
b).

In
addition,
the
Agency's
activities
are
not
duplicative
of
any
other
agency's
actions.
Importing
countries
do
not
receive
such
notifications
from
any
other
sources.

3(
b)
Public
Notice
Required
Prior
to
ICR
Submission
to
OMB
Prior
to
submission
of
the
request
to
renew
the
approval
for
this
ICR,
EPA
provided
a
60­
day
public
notice
and
comment
period
that
ended
on
October
18,
2002
(
67
FR
53792,
August
19,
2002).
EPA
received
four
comments
during
that
comment
period,
i.
e.,
comments
from
Kokopelli
Chemists,
Inc.;
the
Proctor
&
Gamble
Co.;
the
Color
Pigments
Manufacturers
Association,
Inc.;
and
the
American
Chemistry
Council
(
ACC).
The
following
is
a
brief
summary
of
those
comments
and
EPA's
response.
(
Copies
of
the
comments
are
included
in
Attachment
3.)

One
commentor
(
P&
G)
applauded
EPA's
publication
of
the
TSCA
section
12(
b)
Sunset
Table
on
an
EPA
website.
P&
G
also
suggested
that
to
facilitate
compliance,
the
Agency
should
consider
developing
an
Internet
accessible
"
export
compendium"
of
country/
chemical
notifications
for
section
4
and
section
5
chemicals.
Although
this
comment
is
unrelated
to
estimating
the
burden
imposed
by
export
notification
requirements
imposed
under
TSCA
section
12(
b),
EPA
will
consider
this
comment
in
future
Agency
efforts
to
lessen
the
burden
associated
with
compliance
under
TSCA
section
12(
b)
and
avoid
unnecessary
duplication.
It
is
important
to
note
that
EPA's
OPPT
has
responded
to
previously
expressed
concerns
regarding
clarification
of
chemicals
subject
to
TSCA
section
12(
b)
and
has
issued
a
comprehensive
list
of
all
chemicals
that
are
subject
to
the
current
section
12(
b)
regulation
found
at
40
CFR
707.
This
list
is
available
at
http://
www.
epa.
gov/
opptintr/
chemtest/
main12b.
htm;
hard
copies
of
the
list
are
also
available
through
the
TSCA
Hotline
(
202­
554­
1404).
EPA
is
making
every
effort
to
ensure
that
the
list
is
kept
as
accurate
and
up­
to­
date
as
possible
in
order
for
it
to
continue
to
serve
as
an
effective,
complementary
compliance
tool
for
use
by
industry
and
others.
Page
5
All
of
the
commenters
suggested
that
EPA
exempt
from
the
TSCA
section
12(
b)
export
notification
requirements
de
minimus
(
1%)
quantities,
impurities,
byproducts,
R
&
D
chemicals,
and/
or
establish
a
cutoff
of
55
gallons
or
less
of
the
chemical
or
100
pounds,
whichever
measure
applies,
below
which
no
section
12(
b)
notification
would
be
required.
Although
EPA
is
not
fully
persuaded
about
the
magnitude
of
the
burden
reduction
which
commentors
say
would
result
from
such
an
exemption,
EPA
believes
that
it
is
reasonable
to
review
the
current
TSCA
12(
b)
export
notification
requirements
and
consider
industry's
suggestions,
as
well
as
input
from
all
other
interested
parties.
EPA
intends
to
review
this
TSCA
reporting
requirement
in
parallel
with
the
ongoing
U.
S.
Congressional
deliberations
regarding
legislative
implementation
and
ratification
of
the
Rotterdam
Convention
on
Prior
Informed
Consent,
which
is
currently
underway.

Two
commenters
complained
that
EPA

s
burden
estimate
did
not
accurately
reflect
the
total
time,
effort,
or
financial
resources
expended
by
persons
to
generate
or
provide
the
required
information
to
EPA.
EPA
reviewed
the
estimates
provided
in
the
ICR
and
does
not
believe
that
the
estimated
burden
provided
is
unreasonable
or
warrants
any
significant
adjustments.
The
commenters
appear
to
base
this
conclusion
on
the
improper
inclusion
of
activities
and
related
burden
that
are
not
attributable
to
this
activity.
It
is
important
to
note
that
the
burden
estimate
provided
by
EPA
is
intended
to
provide
a
reasonable
average
burden,
rather
than
an
accounting
of
actual
burden.
An
individual
company
may
experience
more
or
less
burden,
based
on
many
factors
and
circumstances
specific
to
that
company.
For
example,
the
commenters
consider
the
burdens
borne
by
a
company
related
to
identifying
and
tracking
of
multiple
chemical
substances
and
mixtures
for
which
a
TSCA
section
12(
b)
notification
is
required.
However,
the
identification
and
tracking
of
chemical
substances
is
not
in
and
of
itself
a
burden
imposed
by
TSCA
section
12(
b).
Further,
TSCA
section
12(
b)
does
not
require
companies
to
identify
and
track
chemicals
and
mixtures.
Rather
it
only
requires
that
a
company
notify
EPA
of
its
export,
or
intent
to
export,
for
those
chemical
substances
and
mixtures
upon
which
EPA
has
taken
certain
actions
under
TSCA
sections
4,
5,
6,
or
7
and
which
are
"
known
to
be"
present
in
a
shipment
intended
for
export.
Also,
section
12(
b)
does
not
require
a
company
to
undertake
any
analysis
in
determining
whether
or
not
a
chemical
substance
or
mixture
is
present
in
a
shipment
to
be
exported.
Exporters
are
only
responsible
for
section
12(
b)
requirements
for
chemicals
whose
presence
in
an
exported
shipment
is
"
reasonably
ascertainable."
Recognizing
that
knowledge
of
shipments
is
an
indispensable
element
of
routine
commercial
activities,
EPA
does
not
believe
that
the
burden
associated
with
export
notification
under
TSCA
section
12(
b)
should
be
expanded
to
include
an
estimate
of
the
time
required
for
checking
orders
for
potential
section
12(
b)
notifications,
whether
or
not
the
notification
is
in
fact
required;
i.
e.,
developing
a
burden
estimate
based
on
shipments
of
chemicals
checked
to
determine
that
export
notices
are
not
required.

In
order
to
further
facilitate
the
discussions
on
improving
the
export
notification
program,
EPA
would
like
to
hold
a
Public
Meeting
and
will
invite
interested
parties
to
participate
in
developing
amendments
to
the
current
TSCA
section
12(
b)
regulation.
EPA
initiated
a
similar
process
when
it
found
that
there
was
a
reasonable
basis
for
amending
TSCA
section
8(
d)
that
it
believes
was
quite
successful
in
streamlining
that
reporting
requirement.

3(
c)
Consultations
Page
6
Prior
to
proposing
guidance
for
the
submission
of
section
12(
b)
notices,
EPA
held
informal
meetings
with
the
Manufacturing
Chemists
Association
(
now
American
Chemistry
Council),
and
with
representatives
of
the
Swedish,
Canadian
and
British
governments.
Twelve
comments
were
received
from
exporters,
environmental
groups
and
foreign
governments
during
the
public
comment
period
for
the
proposal.
We
also
met
with
members
of
the
American
Chemistry
Council
to
discuss
section
12(
b)
requirements
and
the
possible
need
for
some
changes
to
the
rule.
Additionally,
EPA
consulted
with
industry
during
the
preparation
of
this
ICR,
focusing
in
particular
upon
the
Terms
of
Clearance
specified
in
the
last
OMB
approval
of
this
ICR.
The
results
of
those
consultations
are
included
as
Attachment
4.

3(
d)
Effects
of
Less
Frequent
Collection
If
the
collection
of
information
was
conducted
less
frequently,
the
regulatory
requirements
would
not
be
met.

3(
e)
General
Guidelines
This
information
collection
is
necessary
to
implement
statutory
requirements
of
section
12(
b)
of
TSCA
and
is
consistent
with
the
requirements
of
5
CFR
1320.6.

3(
f)
Confidentiality
The
respondent
may
claim
all
or
part
of
a
notice
confidential.
EPA
will
disclose
information
that
is
covered
by
a
claim
of
confidentiality
only
to
the
extent
permitted
by,
and
in
accordance
with,
the
procedures
in
TSCA
and
40
CFR
Part
2.
However,
notwithstanding
any
claim
of
confidentiality,
the
foreign
government
of
the
importing
country
will
be
notified
of
the
export
of
the
substance(
s)
in
question.

3(
g)
Sensitive
Questions
This
section
is
not
applicable.
The
information
requested
is
not
sensitive
in
nature.

4
THE
INFORMATION
COLLECTED­­
AGENCY
ACTIVITIES,
COLLECTION
METHODOLOGY,
AND
INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT
4(
a)
Agency
Activities
The
activities
routinely
conducted
by
EPA
related
to
the
receipt
and
processing
of
section
12(
b)
export
notices
include
the
following:

o
review­
export
notices
for
compliance;
o
respond
to
follow­
up
inquiries
from
foreign
governments;
o
consult
with
companies
on
complying
with
section
12(
b)
rule;
o
act
as
liaison
between
foreign
governments
and
companies
to
seek
additional
information
on
exports;
o
log
in
notices
for
tracking/
reporting;
Page
7
o
prepare
letters
with
supporting
documents
to
foreign
governments.

4(
b)
Collection
Methodology
and
Management
The
collection
methodology
is
event
based,
i.
e.,
the
respondent's
decision
to
export
a
chemical
subject
to
TSCA
section
12(
b).
With
the
exception
of
section
4
chemicals,
an
exporter
must
submit,
on
an
annual
basis,
one
TSCA
section
12(
b)
notice
for
each
country
to
which
a
chemical
subject
to
section
12(
b)
is
exported.
For
section
4
chemicals,
an
exporter
must
only
submit
a
TSCA
section
12(
b)
notice
for
the
first
export
or
intended
export
to
a
particular
country.
The
section
12(
b)
notice
must
be
postmarked
within
seven
days
after
the
respondent
accepts
a
definite
contractual
obligation
or
no
later
than
the
date
of
export.

TSCA
section
12(
b)
export
notifications
are
received
by
EPA's
Environmental
Assistance
Division
(
EAD)
in
OPPT.
The
contractor­
run
TSCA
Assistance
and
Information
Service
(
TAIS
B
also
known
as
the
TSCA
Hotline),
processes
all
of
the
TSCA
section
12(
b)
export
notifications
and
prepares
the
letters
and
related
materials
used
to
notify
appropriate
foreign
governments
of
the
export
of
the
specific
TSCA­
regulated
chemicals
to
their
country
in
accordance
with
the
mandate
in
TSCA
section
12(
b)
and
the
regulations
at
40
CFR
part
707,
Subpart
D.

The
following
is
a
brief
overview
of
the
Agency's
handling
and
tracking
process
for
these
notices:

1)
All
incoming
notices
are
received
in
OPPT's
Confidential
Business
Information
Center
(
CBIC)
which
is
managed
by
OPPT's
Information
Management
Division
(
IMD).

2)
The
CBIC
sends
the
information
to
appropriate
IMD
staff
to
determine
if
the
information
is
Confidential
Business
Information
(
CBI)
or
not.
IMD
then
sends
the
information
with
the
CBI
determination
back
to
the
CBIC.

3)
The
CBIC
sends
all
notifications
(
CBI
or
non­
CBI)
to
TAIS
for
processing.

4)
TAIS
records
the
company
and
chemical
information,
enters
it
into
the
database,
and
prepares
the
notification
letter
and
explanatory
materials
(
e.
g.,
Federal
Register
Notice,
TSCA
section
5(
e)
consent
order).
For
CBI
packages,
TAIS
sends
the
CBI
packages
back
to
the
CBIC
and
the
CBIC
then
sends
the
notification
and
explanatory
information
to
the
embassy/
foreign
authority
of
the
country
to
which
the
subject
chemical
is
being
exported.
For
non­
CBI
packages,
TAIS
sends
the
notification
and
explanatory
information
to
the
embassy/
foreign
authority.

5)
If
the
receiving
country
requests
further
information,
the
request
comes
directly
to
EAD.
EAD
sends
the
request
to
TAIS.
TAIS
obtains
and/
or
generates
the
needed
information,
and
sends
the
package
back
to
EAD
for
formal
signature
and
transmittal
to
the
requesting
country's
embassy
or
authority.

The
Export
Notification
Tracking
System
(
ENTS),
which
is
maintained
by
TAIS,
currently
houses
approximately
162,000
records,
dating
back
to
1989.
The
ENTS
database
is
modified
daily
with
new,
incoming
records
of
chemical
exports
to
foreign
countries.
Updates
also
Page
8
incorporate
regulatory
changes
affecting
the
chemicals
that
are
subject
to
EPA's
TSCA
section
12(
b)
export
notification
rule
at
40
CFR
707.

EPA
is
currently
in
the
process
of
developing
and
implementing
an
optional
electronic
data
reporting
system
for
the
ease
of
respondents,
which
could
result
in
a
significant
burden
reduction.
The
projected
reporting
system
is
designed
to
be
a
user­
friendly
interface
for
parties
engaged
in
reporting
under
TSCA
sections
4,
5,
8,
and
12(
b).
Thus,
the
submission
of
information
to
EPA
will
be
less
expensive,
faster,
and
more
efficient
once
this
technology
is
fully
applied.

4(
c)
Small
Entity
Flexibility
TSCA
section
12(
b)
does
not
exempt
small
businesses.
However,
most
reporting
has
been
by
large
companies,
because
they
do
most
of
the
exporting.
In
any
case,
the
burden
on
any
exporter
is
minimal,
because
it
should
take
no
more
than
one­
half
hour
to
prepare
a
section
12(
b)
notice
and
mailing
costs
are
minimal.

4(
d)
Collection
Schedule
In
general,
there
are
basically
two
collection
schedules
related
to
the
TSCA
section
12(
b)
export
notification
requirements,
i.
e.,
a
one­
time
collection
and
an
annual
collection.
On
an
annual
basis,
excluding
section
4
chemicals,
an
exporter
must
submit
only
one
section
12(
b)
notice
for
each
country
to
which
a
chemical
subject
to
section
12(
b)
is
exported.
For
section
4
chemicals,
an
exporter
must
only
submit
one
section
12(
b)
notice
for
the
first
export
or
intended
export
to
a
particular
country.

If
the
collection
of
information
was
conducted
less
frequently,
the
statutory
requirements
would
not
be
met.

5
THE
RESPONDENTS
AND
THE
INFORMATION
REQUESTED
5(
a)
Respondents/
NAICS
Codes
Respondents
to
this
collection
are
exporters
of
chemical
substances,
which
are
mostly
chemicals
companies
classified
under
NAICS
Codes
325
and
32411.

5(
b)
Information
Requested
(
i)
Data
Items
Respondents
are
required
to
include
the
following
information
in
their
export
notification:

(
1)
the
name
and
address
of
the
exporter;
(
2)
the
name
of
the
chemical;
(
3)
the
country
of
import;
(
4)
the
date
of
export
or
intended
export;
and
(
5)
the
TSCA
section
4,
5,
6
or
7
action
that
triggers
the
notice.
Page
9
(
ii)
Respondent
Activities
In
providing
the
required
section
12(
b)
export
notification,
the
Respondent
(
exporter)
is
likely
to
engage
in
the
following
activities:

(
1)
Compile
and
maintain
a
list
of
chemical
products
manufactured
by
the
company
that
are
also
subject
to
a
TSCA
section
4,
5,
6
or
7
action
(
e.
g.,
compare
list
of
their
chemicals
with
EPA's
list
of
TSCA
section
12(
b)
chemicals);

(
2)
Check
this
list
against
outgoing
orders
to
determine
if
a
product/
chemical
on
the
list
is
expected
to
be
exported
to
a
customer
outside
of
the
U.
S.;

(
3)
If
it
is,
identify
whether
a
12(
b)
notice
is
required
(
e.
g.,
is
it
the
first
shipment
to
that
country
this
year?);
and
(
4)
If
product/
chemical
is
on
the
list
and
a
12(
b)
notice
is
required,
complete
the
required
export
notice
and
forward
it
to
EPA
within
the
required
time
period.

6
ESTIMATING
THE
BURDEN
AND
COST
OF
THE
COLLECTION
The
purpose
of
this
analysis
is
to
determine
the
incremental
cost
to
industry
and
to
the
EPA
associated
with
export
reports
that
are
submitted
to
the
Agency
under
the
TSCA
section
12(
b)
reporting
requirements.

6(
a)
Estimating
Respondent
Burden
The
burden
to
respondents
of
this
information
collection
activity
comprises
the
time
required
to
perform
the
steps
outlined
in
section
3
of
this
document.

Most
companies
comply
by
compiling
a
list
of
products
exported
by
the
company
that
are
subject
to
section
12(
b)
reporting.
Each
outgoing
order
is
checked
to
see
if
the
chemical
or
product
is
on
the
list
and,
depending
on
the
chemical,
whether
it
is
the
first
shipment
to
the
importing
country
or
the
first
shipment
of
the
calendar
year
to
that
country.
If
so,
a
completed
form
letter
is
sent
to
EPA.
In
most
cases
the
entire
process
is
computerized.

Compile
List.
Since
this
information
collection
activity
has
been
in
place
for
twenty
years,
most
respondents
will
have
already
developed
a
list
of
their
products
subject
to
section
12(
b)
reporting.
Respondents
need
only
check
for
new
regulations
promulgated
and
any
new
products
exported
by
the
company.
Updating
the
list
is
estimated
to
take
an
average
of
one
hour
of
technical
time
(
which
may
also
include
some
proportion
of
legal
time).
This
could
vary
depending
on
the
number
of
products
from
two
hours
per
year
up
to
two
hours
per
month
of
technical
time
(
which
may
also
include
some
proportion
of
legal
time).
This
will
vary
depending
on
the
number
of
products
exported
by
the
company
and
the
number
of
their
products
subject
to
section
12(
b).

The
number
of
submitters
per
year
who
report
under
section
12(
b)
has
increased
over
time,
rising
from
around
160
in
1991
to
430
in
2000.
Based
on
this
trend,
we
estimate
that
there
Page
10
will
be
a
further
increase
in
the
number
of
submitters
to
around
500
in
the
near­
future
years.
This
is
an
increase
from
the
estimate
in
the
previous
ICR
analysis,
which
had
projected
around
350
submitters.
Of
these
500
submitters,
we
estimate
that
400
companies
are
near
the
lower
estimate
of
2
hours
per
year,
and
100
companies
are
near
the
upper
estimate
of
24
hours
per
year.
Compiling
the
list
for
all
respondents
is
estimated
to
take
3200
hours
(
2
hours
x
400
firms
plus
24
hours
x
100
firms),
or
an
average
of
6.4
hours
per
firm.
Around
100
of
these
companies
will
be
filing
notices
under
TSCA
section
12(
b)
for
the
first
time
and
thus
could
be
incurring
higher
costs
for
this
task.

Write
or
Revise
Letter.
Companies
that
export
chemicals
subject
to
section
12(
b)
reporting
must
prepare
an
export
notice
to
send
to
EPA.
Time
for
initial
preparation
of
the
export
notice
probably
varies
depending
on
whether
the
company
has
prior
experience
with
this
program,
but
this
step
is
estimated
to
take
an
average
of
one
hour
of
technical
time
(
which
may
also
include
some
proportion
of
legal
time)
per
year
for
each
company
subject
to
section
12(
b)
reporting.
Many
of
the
notifications
received
by
EPA
are
for
repeat
submissions
from
a
company.
Most
of
the
repeat
submissions
received
by
the
Agency
are
computer
generated
form
letters,
and
it
is
assumed
that
no
additional
time
is
required
to
prepare
letters
for
repeat
submissions.
Thus
we
estimate
a
total
of
500
hours
(
1
hour
x
500
firms
=
500
hours)
per
year
in
letter
writing
or
revising.

Checking
Orders
and
Send
Notices.
The
500
companies
that
export
chemicals
subject
to
section
12(
b)
reporting
must
check
outgoing
shipments
against
the
list
of
their
products
described
above.
Where
the
shipment
is
for
a
section
12(
b)
chemical
and,
depending
on
the
chemical,
if
it
is
the
first
shipment
to
the
importing
country
or
the
first
shipment
of
the
calendar
year
to
that
country,
a
form
letter
notifying
EPA
is
printed
out.
This
whole
process
is
estimated
to
take
an
average
one
half
hour
of
clerical
time
per
notice.

The
annual
number
of
submitted
notices
has
varied
substantially
over
time,
but
without
any
obvious
trend.
The
number
has
been
consistently
in
the
range
of
5,000
to
10,000
submissions,
with
a
peak
of
10,000
in
1997,
but
with
more
recent
years
being
in
the
7,000
range.
We
therefore
estimate
that
the
number
of
notices
in
near­
future
years
will
average
about
7,500.
This
is
a
reduction
from
the
estimate
in
the
previous
ICR,
where
we
had
previously
incorrectly
projected
an
increase
to
11,000
over
that
1997
peak.
For
500
firms,
that
indicates
an
average
of
15
notices
per
year
firm.
Total
time
will
be
3,750
hours
(
7,500
x
.5
hour
each).
Page
11
TABLE
1:
ANNUAL
AVERAGE
BURDEN
PER
RESPONDENT
FACILITY
BURDEN
HOURS
ACTIVITY
TECHNICAL
CLERICAL
TOTAL
Compile
list
6.4
­
6.4
Write
letter
1.0
­
1.0
Check
order
and
send
notice
­
7.5
7.5
Total
7.4
7.5
14.9
TABLE
2:
ANNUAL
AGGREGATE
BURDEN
BURDEN
HOURS
ACTIVITY
TECHNICAL
CLERICAL
TOTAL
Compile
list
3,200
­
3,200
Write
letter
500
­
500
Check
order
and
send
notice
­
3,750
3,750
Total
3,700
3,750
7,450
Average
burden
hours
per
notice
0.493
0.5
.993
It
is
estimated
that
the
annual
number
of
notices
to
be
submitted
for
2002
to
2004
will
be
7,500
(
a
reduction
from
the
projected
11,000
submissions
in
the
previous
ICR).
Estimating
that
the
number
of
respondents
will
be
500,
the
average
number
of
notices
submitted
per
respondent
will
be
15.

6(
b)
Estimating
Respondent
Cost
The
costs
to
respondents
is
based
on
the
time
needed
to
complete
the
tasks
listed
in
section
3,
the
hourly
cost
of
labor
at
appropriate
levels
(
labor
rates),
the
number
of
facilities
affected,
and
the
number
of
reports
generated.
There
are
also
costs
for
mailing.
There
are
no
specific
capital
or
miantenance/
operational
costs
associated
directly
with
this
information
collection
activity.

Labor
rates,
including
overhead
costs,
are
$
98.34
for
management
time,
$
72.89
for
technical
time,
and
$
29.39
for
clerical
time,
based
on
current
labor
market
estimates
produced
in
this
office.

Companies
will
also
incur
a
cost
of
$
9.62
per
export
notice
to
send
the
letter
to
EPA
via
registered
mail
($
7.50
for
registered
mail,
$
1.75
for
a
return
receipt,
and
$
0.37
postage).
Aggregate
annual
costs
for
mailing
will
be
$
72,150
($
9.62
x
7,500).
Page
12
TABLE
3:
ANNUAL
COST
PER
RESPONDENT
FACILITY
(
WITH
15
NOTICES)

ANNUAL
COST
ACTIVITY
TECHNICAL
CLERICAL
TOTAL
Compile
list
$
466.50
­
$
466.50
Write
letter
$
72.89
­
$
72.89
Check
order
and
send
notice
­
$
220.42
$
220.42
Mailing
cost
$
144.30
Total
$
145.78
$
220.42
$
904.11
TABLE
4:
ANNUAL
AGGREGATE
RESPONDENT
COST
ANNUAL
COST
ACTIVITY
TECHNICAL
$
72.89/
hr
CLERICAL
$
29.39/
hr
TOTAL
PRESENT
VALUE*

Compile
list
$
233,248
­
$
233,248
$
654,963
Write
letter
$
36,445
­
$
36,445
$
102,338
Check
order
and
send
notice
­
$
110,212
$
110,212
$
309,475
Mailing
cost
­
­
$
72,150
$
202,597
Total
$
269,693
$
110,212
$
452,055
$
1,269,373
*
Present
value
for
3
years
at
a
7%
discount
rate.

6(
c)
Estimating
Agency
Burden
and
Costs
Agency
unit
costs
are
based
on
past
section
12(
b)
analyses,
including
the
previous
ICR,
and
on
recent
contacts
with
EAD/
OPPT
and
with
an
EPA
contractor's
office.
EPA's
cost
estimates
are
based
on
past
experience
with
these
activities.
The
Agency
cost
can
be
divided
into
three
parts:
receiving
and
processing
incoming
notices,
preparing
and
mailing
notifications
to
importing
countries,
and
responding
to
requests
for
information
and
clarification
from
companies
and
importing
countries.
The
allocation
of
burden
hours
and
costs
among
these
three
parts
is
not
exact,
but
the
analysis
below
is
reasonably
accurate
in
terms
of
the
overall
burden
estimate
and
the
approximate
allocation
of
that
burden
among
these
tasks.

In
the
first
task,
notices
are
received
from
firms
that
intend
to
export
a
product
covered
by
this
rule,
the
forms
are
checked
for
completeness,
and
the
submissions
are
logged
into
a
document
control
system.
Based
on
conversations
with
the
workers
responsible
for
this
task,
about
ten
submissions
can
be
processed
per
hour.
EPA
projects
that
an
average
of
7,500
submissions
will
be
received
per
year
over
the
period
covered
by
this
ICR,
requiring
approximately
750
hours
of
Page
13
contractor
support.
This
work
is
currently
done
by
contractor
staff
with
a
fully­
loaded
cost
to
EPA
of
approximately
$
20.00
per
hour
and
thus
is
projected
to
cost
$
15,000
per
year
over
the
period
of
this
ICR.

In
the
second
task,
workers
prepare
letters
of
notification
which
are
subsequently
reviewed
and
sent
out
to
importing
countries.
Not
all
notices
submitted
require
that
a
notification
be
sent
out.
Based
on
conversations
with
EPA
and
contractor
employees,
this
work
varies
considerably
depending
on
the
circumstances
of
any
particular
chemical,
but
averages
approximately
35
minutes
per
notification.
Recent
experience
has
been
approximately
1,700
notifications
per
year.
Assuming
a
similar
rate
in
the
future
would
project
a
total
of
approximately
1000
hours.
This
work
is
currently
done
by
contractor
staff
with
a
fully­
loaded
cost
to
EPA
of
approximately
$
20.00
per
hour
and
thus
is
projected
to
cost
$
20,000
per
year
over
the
period
of
this
ICR.

The
cost
of
EPA's
mailing
a
notification
can
vary
from
$
2.00
to
$
15.00,
depending
on
whether
it
is
sent
to
an
embassy
in
the
US
or
to
an
overseas
destination,
and
depending
on
whether
the
notice
is
registered.
Mailing
cost
was
estimated
in
1998
to
average
approximately
$
4.50
per
notification,
but
postal
rates
have
subsequently
increased.
Assuming
a
50%
increase
in
postal
rates,
EPA
projected
an
average
mailing
cost
of
$
6.75
and
a
total
annual
mailing
cost
of
$
11,475.

The
burden
described
above
covers
the
routine
tasks
of
handing
both
incoming
notices
and
outgoing
notifications.
The
totals
above
also
include
a
certain
amount
of
time
spent
responding
to
routine
requests
for
information,
since
data
are
not
available
to
separate
this
out
from
the
other
tasks.
Based
on
conversations
with
EAD
staff,
the
work
of
responding
to
non­
routine
requests
for
information
and
clarification
from
industry
and
importing
countries,
assisting
the
contractor
staff
in
handling
non­
routine
issues,
and
handling
other
tasks
associated
with
the
section
12(
b)
program
can
be
expected
to
require
about
20%
of
the
time
of
a
GS­
13
EPA
employee,
or
roughly
400
hours
per
year.
Following
the
2002
federal
employee
wage
scale,
and
assuming
an
additional
60%
to
cover
overhead
benefits
etc.,
that
represents
an
annual
cost
of
approximately
$
21,000.

TABLE
5:
ESTIMATED
COSTS
FOR
THE
FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT
ANNUAL
COST
PRESENT
VALUE
*

Processing
of
notices
from
companies
$
15,000
$
42,120
Processing
of
notifications
to
importing
countries
$
20,000
$
56,160
EPA
staff
time,
responding
to
information
requests,
etc.
$
21,000
$
58,968
Mailing
cost
of
notifications
$
11,475
$
32,222
Total
$
67,475
$
189,470
*
Present
value
calculated
for
3
years
at
a
3%
discount
rate.
Page
14
6(
d)
Total
Burden
and
Costs
to
Industry
The
total
estimated
industry
burden
associated
with
this
collection,
as
noted
in
Table
2,
is
estimated
to
be
7,450
hours
annually.
The
associated
cost,
as
noted
in
Table
4,
is
estimated
to
be
$
452,055
annually.

6(
e)
Bottom
Line
Burden
Hours
and
Cost
Tables
(
i)
Respondent
Tally
Annual
Respondent
Burden:
7,450
hours.

Annual
Respondent
Costs:
$
452,055.

(
ii)
The
Agency
Tally
Annual
Agency
Costs:
$
67,475.

6(
f)
Reasons
for
Change
in
Burden
There
is
a
decrease
of
2,950
hours
(
from
10,400
hours
to
7,450
hours)
in
the
total
estimated
respondent
burden
compared
with
that
identified
in
the
information
collection
previously
approved
by
OMB.
The
above
analysis
shows
about
a
30%
decrease
in
the
estimated
number
of
notices
sent
to
EPA,
a
40%
increase
in
the
number
of
firms
sending
notices,
and
about
a
15%
increase
in
labor
wage
rates
in
comparison
to
the
estimates
for
the
previous
ICR.
These
factors
in
combination
result
in
about
a
30%
decrease
in
projected
burden
hours
and
a
4%
increase
in
burden
cost
to
responding
firms.
These
numbers
reflect
our
experience,
which
shows
more
reporting
firms
but
fewer
notices
per
firm
than
anticipated
over
the
past
several
years.

6(
e)
Burden
Statement
The
annual
public
burden
for
this
collection
of
information
is
estimated
to
be
about
one
hour
per
response.
According
to
the
Paperwork
Reduction
Act,
"
burden"
means
the
total
time,
effort,
or
financial
resources
expended
by
persons
to
generate,
maintain,
retain,
or
disclose
or
provide
information
to
or
for
a
federal
agency.
For
this
collection
it
includes
the
time
needed
to
review
instructions;
develop,
acquire,
install
and
utilize
technology
and
systems
for
the
purposes
of
collecting,
validating,
and
verifying
information,
processing
and
maintaining
information,
and
disclosing
and
providing
information;
adjust
the
existing
ways
to
comply
with
any
previously
applicable
instructions
and
requirements;
train
personnel
to
be
able
to
respond
to
a
collection
of
information;
search
data
sources;
complete
and
review
the
collection
of
information
;
and
transmit
or
otherwise
disclose
the
information.
An
agency
may
not
conduct
or
sponsor,
and
a
person
is
not
required
to
respond
to,
a
collection
of
information
unless
it
displays
a
currently
valid
OMB
control
number.
The
OMB
control
number
for
this
information
collection
appears
above.
In
addition,
the
OMB
control
numbers
for
EPA's
regulation,
after
initial
display
in
the
final
rule,
are
listed
in
40
CFR
part
9.
Page
15
To
comment
on
the
Agency's
need
for
this
information,
the
accuracy
of
the
provided
burden
estimates,
and
any
suggested
methods
for
minimizing
respondent
burden,
including
the
use
of
automated
collection
techniques,
EPA
has
established
a
public
docket
for
this
ICR
under
Docket
ID
No.
OPPT­
2002­
0048,
which
is
available
for
public
viewing
at
the
EPA
Docket
Center
(
EPA/
DC),
EPA
West,
Room
B102,
1301
Constitution
Ave.,
NW,
Washington,
DC.
The
EPA
Docket
Center
Public
Reading
Room
is
open
from
8:
30
a.
m.
to
4:
30
p.
m.,
Monday
through
Friday,
excluding
legal
holidays.
The
telephone
number
for
the
Reading
Room
is
(
202)
566­
1744,
and
the
telephone
number
for
the
Pollution
Prevention
and
Toxics
Docket
is
(
202)
566­
0280.
An
electronic
version
of
the
public
docket
is
available
through
EDOCKET
at
http://
www.
epa.
gov/
edocket.
Use
EDOCKET
to
submit
or
view
public
comments,
access
the
index
listing
of
the
contents
of
the
public
docket,
and
to
access
those
documents
in
the
public
docket
that
are
available
electronically.
Once
in
the
system,
select
"
search,"
then
key
in
the
docket
ID
number
identified
above.
Also,
you
can
send
comments
to
the
Office
of
Information
and
Regulatory
Affairs,
Office
of
Management
and
Budget,
725
17th
Street,
NW,
Washington,
DC
20503,
Attention:
Desk
Office
for
EPA.
Please
include
OMB
Control
No.
2070­
0030
in
any
correspondence.

ATTACHMENTS:

[
NOTE:
Unless
otherwise
noted,
an
electronic
copy
of
the
attachment
is
available
in
the
electronic
version
of
the
public
docket
available
through
EDOCKET
at
http://
www.
epa.
gov/
edocket.
Once
in
the
system,
select
"
quick
search,"
then
indicate
that
you'd
like
to
search
by
Docket
and
key
in
the
following
docket
ID
number:
OPPT­
2002­
0048.
Search
the
docket
index
for
the
document
by
the
title
provided
below.
If
you
have
any
difficulties,
please
contact
the
technical
person
listed
in
the
Federal
Register
notice
announcing
the
submission
of
this
ICR
to
OMB
for
review
and
approval.]

Attachment
Document
#
1
The
Statute:
Toxic
Substances
Control
Act,
Section
12(
b)
­
15
U.
S.
C.
2611(
b)(
2)
[
The
electronic
copy
for
this
attachment
is
available
as
part
of
the
electronic
copy
of
the
ICR's
Supporting
Statement.]

#
2
The
Regulation:
Chemical
Imports
and
Exports,
40
CFR
707,
Subpart
D
[
The
electronic
copy
for
this
attachment
is
available
as
part
of
the
electronic
copy
of
the
ICR's
Supporting
Statement.]

#
3
Public
Comments
Received
During
Public
Notice
and
Comment
Period
[
Available
only
in
paper
in
the
public
docket.]

#
4
EPA
Activities
in
Response
to
Terms
of
Clearance
From
Last
OMB
Approval
[
The
electronic
copy
for
this
attachment
is
available
as
part
of
the
electronic
copy
of
the
ICR's
Supporting
Statement.]
ATTACHMENT
1
The
Statute:
Toxic
Substances
Control
Act,
Section
12(
b)

15
U.
S.
C.
2611(
b)(
2)

[
The
electronic
copy
for
this
attachment
is
available
as
part
of
the
electronic
copy
of
the
ICR's
Supporting
Statement.]
Sec.
2611.
­
Exports
*
*
*

(
b)
Notice
(
5)
If
any
person
exports
or
intends
to
export
to
a
foreign
country
a
chemical
substance
or
mixture
for
which
the
submission
of
data
is
required
under
section
2603
or
2604(
b)
of
this
title,
such
person
shall
notify
the
Administrator
of
such
exportation
or
intent
to
export
and
the
Administrator
shall
furnish
to
the
government
of
such
country
notice
of
the
availability
of
the
data
submitted
to
the
Administrator
under
such
section
for
such
substance
or
mixture.

(
6)
If
any
person
exports
or
intends
to
export
to
a
foreign
country
a
chemical
substance
or
mixture
for
which
an
order
has
been
issued
under
section
2604
of
this
title
or
a
rule
has
been
proposed
or
promulgated
under
section
2604
or
2605
of
this
title,
or
with
respect
to
which
an
action
is
pending,
or
relief
has
been
granted
under
section
2604
or
2606
of
this
title,
such
person
shall
notify
the
Administrator
of
such
exportation
or
intent
to
export
and
the
Administrator
shall
furnish
to
the
government
of
such
country
notice
of
such
rule,
order,
action,
or
relief
ATTACHMENT
2
The
Regulation:
Chemical
Imports
and
Exports
40
CFR
707,
Subpart
D
[
The
electronic
copy
for
this
attachment
is
available
as
part
of
the
electronic
copy
of
the
ICR's
Supporting
Statement.]
Code
of
Federal
Regulations
­
40
CFR
part
707
(
As
of
July
1,
2000)

TITLE
40­­
PROTECTION
OF
ENVIRONMENT
CHAPTER
I­­
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY
(
CONTINUED)

PART
707
­
CHEMICAL
IMPORTS
AND
EXPORTS
§
707.20
Chemical
substances
import
policy.

(
a)
Scope.
(
1)
This
statement
addresses
the
policy
of
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(
EPA)
on
importation
of
chemical
substances,
mixtures,
and
articles
under
section
13
of
the
Toxic
Substances
Control
Act
(
TSCA;
15
U.
S.
C.
2601
et
seq.).
In
particular,
it
addresses
aspects
of
the
regulation
promulgated
by
the
United
States
Customs
Service
(
Customs),
Department
of
the
Treasury
(
19
CFR
12.118
through
12.127,
and
127.28
[
amended])
to
implement
section
13
of
TSCA,
15
U.
S.
C.
2612.
Section
13
requires
the
Secretary
of
the
Treasury
to
refuse
entry
into
the
Customs
territory
of
the
United
States
of
a
chemical
substance,
mixture,
or
article
if
it
does
not
comply
with
rules
in
effect
under
TSCA,
or
if
it
is
offered
for
entry
in
violation
of
TSCA
or
rules
or
orders
under
TSCA.

(
2)
In
addition
to
this
statement
of
policy,
EPA
will
continue,
as
necessary,
to
address
problems
associated
with
imports
in
rulemaking
and
other
actions
under
individual
sections
of
TSCA,
i.
e.,
sections
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
and
12.
Sections
5,
6,
and
7
apply
directly
to
imports
subject
to
the
section
13
requirements.
Section
12
may
apply
to
export
of
a
shipment
that
is
refused
entry
under
section
13.
Importers
may
have
obligations
under
sections
4
and
8;
section
4
and
8
requirements
for
importers
would
not
apply
to
individual
chemical
shipments
and
thus
are
not
included
under
section
13
requirements.
Interested
persons
should
refer
to
the
records
of
these
individual
rulemaking
actions
for
specific
information
and
guidance.

(
b)
Objectives.
(
1)
TSCA
is
intended
to
be
comprehensive,
and
assure
protection
of
health
and
the
environment
from
unreasonable
risks
associated
with
chemicals
whether
the
chemicals
are
imported
or
produced
domestically.
This
intent
is
manifested
by
the
inclusion
of
importation
in
the
Act's
definition
of
the
term
"
manufacture":
"[
M]
anufacture
means
to
import
*
*
*,
produce,
or
manufacture"
(
15
U.
S.
C.
2602(
7)).
Thus,
importers
are
responsible
for
insuring
that
chemical
importation
complies
with
TSCA
just
as
domestic
manufacturers
are
responsible
for
insuring
that
chemical
manufacture
complies
with
TSCA.

(
2)(
i)
The
section
13
rule
requires
importers
to
sign
the
following
statement
for
each
import
of
chemical
substances
subject
to
TSCA:
"
I
certify
that
all
chemical
substances
in
this
shipment
comply
with
all
applicable
rules
or
orders
under
TSCA
and
that
I
am
not
offering
a
chemical
substance
for
entry
in
violation
of
TSCA
or
any
applicable
rule
or
order
under
TSCA."
The
certification
will
document
that,
in
accordance
with
TSCA,
the
importer
has
taken
the
necessary
steps
to
insure
compliance.

(
ii)
The
section
13
rule
requires
importers
of
chemicals
not
subject
to
TSCA
(
e.
g.,
pesticides)
to
certify
that
compliance
with
TSCA
is
not
required.
Importers
must
certify
this
by
signing
the
statement:
"
I
certify
that
all
chemicals
in
this
shipment
are
not
subject
to
TSCA."
This
is
appropriate
when
a
chemical
import
is
not
clearly
identified
as
a
pesticide
or
other
chemical
not
subject
to
TSCA.
(
3)
The
United
States
is
involved
in
a
major
effort
toward
international
harmonization
in
the
control
of
chemicals.
At
such
time
as
international
agreement
is
reached
on
this
issue,
EPA
would
be
prepared
to
modify
its
policy
if
necessary.
EPA
believes
that
its
international
harmonization
efforts
in
the
control
of
chemicals
will
protect
health
and
the
environment
while
fulfilling
its
obligations
under
the
Trade
Agreements
Act
of
1979.

(
c)
The
section
13
rule
­­
(
1)
General
certification.
(
i)
The
rule
promulgated
under
section
13
of
TSCA
by
Customs,
in
consultation
with
EPA,
implements
the
requirement
of
section
13
that
chemical
substances,
mixtures,
or
articles
not
in
compliance
with
TSCA,
or
whose
importation
is
not
in
compliance
with
TSCA,
shall
be
denied
entry
into
the
customs
territory
of
the
United
States.
The
rule
requires
that
importers
certify
by
a
statement,
on
the
entry
document
or
invoice,
that
any
shipment
of
a
chemical
substance
subject
to
TSCA,
imported
in
bulk
or
as
part
of
a
mixture,
complies
with
TSCA,
and
that
it
is
not
offered
for
entry
in
violation
of
TSCA
or
any
rule
or
order
under
TSCA,
or
that
the
chemicals
imported
are
not
subject
to
TSCA.

(
ii)
The
certification
applies
to
TSCA
sections
5,
6,
and
7.

(
iii)
EPA
expects
that
this
certification
will
be
based
upon
actual
knowledge
of
the
importer
in
most
cases.
However,
EPA
realizes
that
sometimes
importers
may
not
have
actual
knowledge
of
the
chemical
composition
of
imported
mixtures.
In
these
cases,
the
importer
should
attempt
to
discover
the
chemical
constituents
of
the
shipment
by
contacting
another
party
to
the
transaction
(
e.
g.,
his
principal
or
the
foreign
manufacturer).
This
person
may
be
able
to
identify
the
components
of
the
mixture,
or
at
least
state
that
the
substances
comply
with
TSCA.
The
greater
the
effort
an
importer
makes
to
learn
the
identities
of
the
imported
substances
and
their
compliance
with
TSCA,
the
smaller
his
chance
of
committing
a
violation
by
importing
a
noncomplying
shipment.
If
a
shipment
is
ultimately
determined
to
have
violated
TSCA,
the
good
faith
efforts
of
the
importer
to
verify
compliance,
as
evidenced
by
documents
contained
in
his
files,
may
obviate
or
mitigate
the
assessment
of
a
civil
penalty
under
section
16
of
TSCA.

(
2)
EPA
enforcement.
(
i)
EPA
and
Customs
will
monitor
chemical
imports
to
determine
if
shipments
and
their
import
comply
with
the
certification
requirements
and
the
substantive
mandates
of
TSCA.
Customs
will
refuse
entry
to
any
shipment
until
such
time
as
the
certification
is
properly
submitted.
Customs
will
also
detain
a
shipment
if
there
are
reasonable
grounds
to
believe
that
such
shipment
or
its
import
violates
TSCA
or
regulations
or
orders
thereunder.
A
violative
shipment
must
either
be
brought
into
compliance,
exported,
destroyed,
or
voluntarily
abandoned
within
the
time
periods
prescribed
in
19
CFR
12.124
of
the
section
13
rule.

(
ii)
When
EPA
determines
that
a
shipment
should
be
detained,
EPA
will
identify
the
reasons
for
the
detention
and
the
necessary
actions
for
an
importer
to
bring
the
shipment
into
compliance
with
TSCA.
If
EPA
has
given
this
information
to
Customs
before
the
district
director
issues
the
detention
notice,
the
information
will
become
part
of
the
detention
notice.
The
importer
should
contact
one
of
the
following
EPA
regional
offices
for
guidance
as
to
the
proper
procedures
to
correct
any
deficiencies
in
the
shipment.

Region
I
­
John
F.
Kennedy
Federal
Building,
Boston,
MA
02203
(
617­
223­
0586)

Region
II
­
26
Federal
Plaza,
New
York,
NY
10278
(
201­
321­
6669)

Region
III
­
Curtis
Building,
6th
and
Walnut
Streets,
Philadelphia,
PA
19106
(
215­
597­
7668)
Region
IV
­
345
Courtland
Street,
NE.,
Atlanta,
GA
30365
(
404­
881­
3864)

Region
V
­
77
West
Jackson
Boulevard,
Chicago,
IL
60604
(
312­
353­
2291)

Region
VI
­
1201
Elm
Street,
Dallas,
TX
75270
(
214­
767­
2734)

Region
VII
­
324
East
11th
Street,
Kansas
City,
MO
64106
(
816­
374­
3036)

Region
VIII
­
1860
Lincoln
Street,
Denver,
CO
80295
(
303­
837­
3926)

Region
IX
­
215
Fremont
Street,
San
Francisco,
CA
94105
(
415­
974­
8119)

Region
X
­
1200
Sixth
Avenue,
Seattle,
WA
98101
(
206­
442­
2871)

(
iii)
If
Customs
detains
or
refuses
entry
of
a
shipment
(
other
than
for
failure
to
make
the
general
certification)
and
the
importer
takes
measures
necessary
to
bring
the
shipment
into
conformity
with
the
requirements
of
TSCA,
EPA
officials
will
reassess
the
shipment
to
determine
its
current
compliance
status.
When
a
shipment
is
no
longer
in
violation,
EPA
will
notify
the
district
director
and
the
importer.
The
district
director
will
then
release
the
shipment.
This
notice
will
also
serve
as
a
determination
to
permit
entry
under
19
CFR
12.123(
c)
if
a
shipment
is
brought
into
compliance
before
the
19
CFR
12.123(
c)
decisionmaking
process
has
been
completed.
If
compliance
is
achieved
after
a
19
CFR
12.123(
c)
determination
(
adverse
to
the
importer)
has
been
made,
the
EPA
notice
to
the
district
director
will
serve
as
a
reversal
of
the
decision
to
refuse
entry.

(
3)
EPA
assistance.
Assistance
in
determining
whether
a
chemical
shipment
is
in
compliance
with
TSCA
can
be
obtained
from
the
Director,
Environmental
Assistance
Division
(
7408),
Office
of
Pollution
Prevention
and
Toxics,
U.
S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency,
Room
E­
543B,
1200
Pennsylvania
Ave.,
NW.,
Washington,
DC
20460,
Telephone:
(
202)
554­
1404,
TDD:
(
202)
544­
0551.

[
48
FR
55464,
Dec.
13,
1983,
as
amended
at
60
FR
34463,
July
3,
1995;
62
FR
1834,
Jan.
14,
1997]

§
707.60
Applicability
and
compliance.

(
a)
Section
12(
b)
of
the
Toxic
Substances
Control
Act
requires
any
person
who
exports
or
intends
to
export
a
chemical
substance
or
mixture
to
notify
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency
of
such
exportation
to
a
particular
country
if
any
of
the
following
actions
have
been
taken
under
the
Act
with
respect
to
that
chemical
substance
or
mixture:

(
1)
Data
are
required
under
section
4
or
5(
b),

(
2)
An
order
has
been
issued
under
section
5,

(
3)
A
rule
has
been
proposed
or
promulgated
under
section
5
or
6,
or
(
4)
An
action
is
pending,
or
relief
has
been
granted
under
section
5
or
7.

(
b)
No
notice
of
export
will
be
required
for
articles,
except
PCB
articles,
unless
the
Agency
so
requires
in
the
context
of
individual
section
5,
6,
or
7
actions.
(
c)
Any
person
who
exports
or
intends
to
export
polychlorinated
biphenyls
(
PCBs)
or
PCB
articles,
for
any
purpose
other
than
disposal,
shall
notify
EPA
of
such
intent
or
exportation
under
section
12(
b).
PCBs
and
PCB
articles
have
the
definitions
published
in
§
761.3
of
this
title
respectively.

(
d)
Any
person
who
would
be
prohibited
by
a
section
5
or
6
regulation
from
exporting
a
chemical
substance
or
mixture,
but
who
is
granted
an
exemption
by
EPA
to
export
that
chemical
substance
or
mixture,
shall
notify
EPA
under
section
12(
b)
of
such
intent
to
export
or
exportation.

(
e)
Failure
to
comply
with
section
12(
b)
as
set
forth
in
these
rules
will
be
considered
a
violation
of
section
15(
3)
of
the
Toxic
Substances
Control
Act,
and
will
subject
the
exporter
to
the
penalty,
enforcement,
and
seizure
provisions
of
sections
16
and
17
of
the
Toxic
Substances
Control
Act.

§
707.63
Definitions.

The
definitions
set
forth
in
the
Toxic
Substances
Control
Act,
section
3,
apply
for
this
part.
In
addition,
the
following
abbreviations
and
definitions
are
provided
for
purposes
of
this
rule:

(
a)
EPA
means
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency.

(
b)
Exporter
means
the
person
who,
as
the
principal
party
in
interest
in
the
export
transaction,
has
the
power
and
responsibility
for
determining
and
controlling
the
sending
of
the
chemical
substance
or
mixture
to
a
destination
out
of
the
customs
territory
of
the
United
States.

(
c)
Regulated
chemical
means
any
chemical
substance
or
mixture
for
which
export
notice
is
required
under
§
707.60.

(
d)
TSCA
means
the
Toxic
Substances
Control
Act.

§
707.65
Submission
to
agency.

(
a)
Exporters
must
notify
EPA
of
their
export
or
intended
export
of
each
regulated
chemical
in
accordance
with
the
following:

(
1)
The
notice
must
be
in
writing;

(
2)(
i)
The
notice
must
be
for
the
first
export
or
intended
export
to
a
particular
country
in
a
calendar
year
when
data
are
required
under
section
5(
b),
an
order
has
been
issued
under
section
5,
a
rule
has
been
proposed
or
promulgated
under
section
5
or
6,
or
an
action
is
pending
or
relief
has
been
granted
under
section
5
or
7.

(
ii)
The
notice
must
be
for
the
first
export
or
intended
export
to
a
particular
country
when
data
are
required
under
section
4.

(
3)
The
notice
must
be
postmarked
within
seven
days
of
forming
the
intent
to
export
or
on
the
date
of
export,
whichever
is
earlier.
A
notice
of
intent
to
export
must
be
based
on
a
definite
contractual
obligation,
or
an
equivalent
intra­
company
agreement,
to
export
the
regulated
chemical.

(
b)
If
the
EPA
action
that
prompts
the
notice
is
a
proposed
rule,
the
requirement
to
submit
export
notices
to
EPA
shall
begin
thirty
days
after
publication
of
the
action
in
the
Federal
Register.
(
c)
Notices
shall
be
marked
"
Section
12(
b)
Notice"
and
sent
to
the
Document
Control
Office
(
7407),
Office
of
Pollution
Prevention
and
Toxics,
U.
S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency,
Room
G­
099,
1200
Pennsylvania
Ave.,
NW.,
Washington,
DC
20460.

[
45
FR
82850,
Dec.
16,
1980,
as
amended
at
53
FR
12522,
Apr.
15,
1988;
58
FR
40242,
July
27,
1993;
60
FR
34463,
July
3,
1995]

§
707.67
Contents
of
notice.

The
notice
to
EPA
shall
include:

(
a)
The
name
of
the
regulated
chemical
as
it
appears
in
the
section
4,
5,
6,
or
7
action.
If
a
category
is
regulated,
the
name
of
the
individual
regulated
chemical
within
that
category,
as
well
as
the
category,
must
be
given.
The
name
shall
be
that
which
appears
in
Volume
I
of
the
EPA
Chemical
Substance
Inventory,
or
its
supplements,
if
the
chemical
appears
there.

(
b)
The
name
and
address
of
the
exporter.

(
c)
The
country
(
countries)
of
import.

(
d)
The
date(
s)
of
export
or
intended
export.

(
e)
The
section
(
4,
5,
6,
or
7)
of
TSCA
under
which
EPA
has
taken
action.

§
707.70
EPA
notice
to
foreign
governments.

(
a)(
1)
Notice
by
EPA
to
the
importing
country
shall
be
sent
no
later
than
5
working
days
after
receipt
by
the
TSCA
Document
Processing
Center
of
the
first
annual
notification
for
each
regulated
chemical
when
data
are
required
under
section
5(
b),
an
order
has
been
issued
under
section
5,
a
rule
has
been
proposed
or
promulgated
under
section
5
or
6,
or
an
action
is
pending
or
relief
has
been
granted
under
section
5
or
7.

(
2)
Notice
by
EPA
to
the
importing
country
shall
be
sent
no
later
than
5
working
days
after
receipt
by
the
TSCA
Document
Processing
Center
of
the
first
notification
for
each
regulated
chemical
when
data
are
required
under
section
4.

(
b)
Notices
shall:

(
1)
Identify
the
regulated
chemical.

(
2)
Summarize
the
regulatory
action
taken,
or
indicate
the
availability
of
data
under
section
4
or
5(
b)
of
TSCA.

(
3)
Identify
an
EPA
official
to
contact
for
further
information.

(
4)
Include
a
copy
of
the
pertinent
Federal
Register
notice.

(
c)
Notices
shall
be
sent
to
the
country's
ambassador
in
Washington,
DC,
or
other
official
designated
by
the
foreign
government,
and
to
the
United
States
Department
of
State.
[
45
FR
82850,
Dec.
16,
1980,
as
amended
at
58
FR
40242,
July
27,
1993]

§
707.72
Termination
of
reporting
requirements.

(
a)
The
reporting
requirements
of
subpart
D
of
this
part
are
terminated
for
certain
specific
chemical
substances
and
mixtures
as
set
forth
in
this
paragraph.

(
1)
When
data
required
under
part
766
of
this
chapter
have
been
submitted
to
EPA
for
a
specific
chemical
substance
produced
by
a
specific
process,
and
the
data
show
no
positive
test
result
as
defined
in
§
766.3
of
this
chapter,
reporting
is
no
longer
required
by
persons
who
export
or
intend
to
export
that
substance
produced
by
that
process.

(
2)
[
Reserved]

(
b)
[
Reserved]

[
52
FR
21437,
June
5,
1987]

§
707.75
Confidentiality.

(
a)
A
person
may
assert
a
claim
of
confidentiality
for
any
information
which
is
submitted
to
EPA
in
a
notice.

(
b)
Any
claim
of
confidentiality
must
accompany
the
information
at
the
time
it
is
submitted
to
EPA.
In
the
notice,
the
submitter
must
clearly
identify
the
information
that
is
claimed
confidential
by
marking
the
specific
information
on
each
page
with
a
label
such
as
"
confidential
business
information",
"
proprietary",
or
"
trade
secret".

(
c)
Notwithstanding
any
claim
of
confidentiality,
information
outlined
in
§
707.70
will
be
included
in
the
EPA
notice
to
the
foreign
government.
With
this
exception,
EPA
will
disclose
information
that
is
covered
by
a
claim
of
confidentiality
asserted
in
accordance
with
this
section
only
to
the
extent
permitted
by,
and
in
accordance
with,
the
procedures
set
forth
in
TSCA
and
part
2
of
this
chapter.

(
d)
If
a
person
does
not
assert
a
claim
of
confidentiality
for
information
at
the
time
a
notice
is
submitted
to
EPA,
the
Agency
may
make
the
information
public,
including
placement
in
a
public
file,
without
further
notice
to
the
person.
ATTACHMENT
3
Public
Comments
Received
During
Public
Notice
and
Comment
Period
[
Available
only
in
paper
in
the
public
docket.]
ATTACHMENT
4
EPA
Activities
in
Response
to
Terms
of
Clearance
From
Last
OMB
Approval
[
The
electronic
copy
for
this
attachment
is
available
as
part
of
the
electronic
copy
of
the
ICR's
Supporting
Statement.]
2
EPA
Activities
in
Response
to
Terms
of
Clearance
From
Last
OMB
Approval
At
the
time
OMB
last
approved
this
information
collection,
OMB
included
certain
Terms
of
Clearance
with
its
approval
that
it
directed
EPA
to
address
at
the
time
of
the
next
request
for
OMB
approval
(
i.
e.,
the
submission
of
this
ICR).

In
a
"
Notice
of
Office
of
Management
and
Budget
Action,"
dated
January
31,
2000,
OMB
included
the
following
Terms
of
Clearance:

"
OMB
acknowledges
that
EPA
is
taking
into
consideration
comments
suggesting
modification
of
existing
regulatory
requirements
for
purposes
of
reducing
the
burden
associated
with
reporting
impurities,
byproducts,
R
and
D
chemicals,
and
certain
concentrations
of
other
chemicals.
OMB
also
acknowledges
EPA's
response
to
commenters'
requests
for
clarification
of
the
following:
1)
TSCA
Section
12(
b)
export
notification
requirements
apply
to
chemical
substances
and
mixtures,
not
to
products
of
a
particular
state
or
mixture;
and
2)
Section
12(
b)
export
notification
requirements
do
not
apply
to
proposed
TSCA
Section
4
rules.

"
Before
resubmission
of
this
ICR
for
renewal,
the
Agency
will
report
to
OMB
on
the
status
of
potential
amendments
to
the
TSCA
Section
12(
b)
rule.
The
agency
should
include
in
this
report
an
analysis
of
the
burden
associated
with
collecting
information
on
exported
impurities,
byproducts,
R
and
D
chemicals,
and
certain
concentrations
of
PCBs,
and
also
a
discussion
of
the
usefulness
of
these
data.
While
OMB
appreciates
EPA's
refinement
of
burden
estimates
based
on
recent
agency
experience,
OMB
encourages
EPA
to
confirm
Agency
estimates
of
burden
per
respondent,
taking
into
consideration
comments
received
on
this
ICR
submission
and
also
during
both
potential
future
Section
12(
b)
stakeholder
meetings
and/
or
rulemakings."

During
preparation
of
the
current
renewal
request
for
this
information
collection,
EPA
engaged
in
specific
consultations
with
a
selected
number
of
respondents
to
address
these
Terms
of
Clearance.
As
a
part
of
these
consultations,
the
Eastern
Research
Group,
Inc.
("
ERG")
asked
nine
companies
about
their
experiences
with
the
reporting
burden
associated
with
chemicals
present
as
byproducts
or
impurities.
A
summary
of
the
responses
they
received
follows,
along
with
a
copy
of
the
sample
letter
they
used.

As
discussed
in
the
ICR
renewal
request,
commenters
again
asked
the
Agency
to
consider
revising
TSCA
section
12(
b)
and
the
implementing
regulations
to
exclude
reporting
of
de
minimus
(
1%)
quantities,
impurities,
byproducts,
R
&
D
chemicals,
and/
or
establish
certain
other
exclusions
to
eliminate
reporting
burden
under
TSCA
section
12(
b).
Although,
based
on
the
responses
summarized
below,
EPA
is
not
fully
persuaded
about
the
magnitude
of
the
burden
reduction
which
commentors
say
would
result
from
such
exclusions,
EPA
believes
that
it
is
reasonable
to
review
the
current
TSCA
section
12(
b)
export
notification
requirements
and
consider
industry's
suggestions,
as
well
as
input
from
all
other
interested
parties.
EPA
intends
to
review
this
TSCA
reporting
requirement
in
parallel
with
the
ongoing
U.
S.
Congressional
deliberations
regarding
legislative
implementation
and
ratification
of
the
Rotterdam
Convention
on
Prior
Informed
Consent,
which
is
currently
underway.
In
addition,
to
further
facilitate
a
broader
discussion
on
improving
the
export
notification
program,
EPA
intends
to
hold
a
Public
Meeting
in
the
fourth
quarter
of
FY2003,
and
will
invite
all
interested
parties
to
participate
in
developing
amendments
to
the
current
TSCA
section
12(
b)
regulation.
EPA
initiated
a
similar
3
process
when
it
found
that
there
was
a
reasonable
basis
for
amending
TSCA
section
8(
d)
regulations
that
it
believes
was
quite
successful
in
streamlining
that
reporting
requirement.
Such
an
effort,
however,
should
be
considered
separately
from
this
ICR.
The
purpose
and
coverage
of
this
ICR
continues
to
be
the
collection
activity
mandated
by
TSCA
section
12(
b),
as
implemented
by
the
regulations
in
40
CFR
part
707,
Subpart
D.
1
See
memo
dated
July
9,
1999,
"
TSCA
Section
12(
b)
burdens,"
to
Joe
Callahan
OPPT/
EETD/
EPAB,
from
Andrea
Desilets
and
Jeff
Cantin,
ERG,
Inc.
MEMORANDUM
Date:
November
22,
2002
From:
Dina
Metivier
and
Jeff
Cantin
To:
Joseph
Callahan,
OPPT/
EETD/
EPAB
Subject:
TSCA
Section
12(
b)
Burden
Update
This
memo
summarizes
responses
we
have
received
on
the
questions
posed
to
a
sample
of
companies
that
have
previously
submitted
TSCA
Section
12(
b)
export
notifications
to
EPA.
The
companies
were
chosen
based
on
their
inclusion
in
a
randomly
selected
sample
used
for
a
similar
task
in
1999.1
We
contacted
nine
companies
and
spoke
with
or
have
received
faxed
or
e­
mailed
responses
from
five
companies
thus
far.
It
is
possible
we
will
receive
additional
responses
today
or
into
next
week,
in
which
case
we
will
fax
or
e­
mail
the
responses
directly
to
you.

Table
1
highlights
the
key
ratios
you
expressed
interest
in
for
the
12(
b)
ICR.
Companies
are
listed
in
the
order
which
their
information
was
received.

Table
2
contains
the
companies'
detailed
responses
to
our
questions,
with
companies
again
listed
in
the
order
which
their
information
was
received.
More
detail
may
be
found
in
the
telephone
log
sheets,
where
unsolicited
comments
from
several
companies
are
also
listed.
These
log
sheets
will
be
provided
separately
at
your
request.
Please
contact
Dina
at
(
781)
674­
7301
or
Jeff
at
(
781)
674­
7315
if
you
have
any
questions.
Table
1.
Summary
of
12(
b)
Data
BASF
Eastman
A.
W.
Chesterton
Bayerh
FMC
Products
1,040a
1,000f
300
5,000
500e
Exported
products
340b
500
300
25,000c
500e
Products
subject
to
12(
b)
340b
75i
15
25,000d
8
12(
b)
notices
generated
170
Varies
10
75
20
12(
b)
notices
due
to
impurities
153g
Several
0
71
0
Percent
of
products
exported
32.7%
50.0%
100.0%
100.0%
j
100.0%

Percent
of
exported
products
requiring
12(
b)
notification
50.0%
15.0%
k
3.3%
2.0%
j
1.6%

Percent
of
exported
products
requiring
12(
b)
notification
due
to
impurities
94.1%
Varies
0.0%
95.0%
0.0%

a
Number
of
new
products
reviewed
yearly
for
applicability
of
12(
b)
requirements.
b
Reflects
number
of
exported
products
reviewed
for
12(
b).
c
Number
of
shipments
per
year,
containing
a
variety
of
products.
d
Number
of
shipments
reviewed,
but
not
necessarily
subject
to
the
12(
b)
notification
requirements.
e
Actual
response
was
"
500+
total
products."
f
Actual
response
was
"
More
than
1,000."
g
Actual
response
was
"
Most
12(
b)
triggers
are
for
components,
and
in
turn,
most
of
these
are
impurities."
ERG
used
90%
of
the
number
of
12(
b)
notices
as
an
estimate.
h
This
company
provided
ranges
for
all
answers.
The
midpoint
of
each
range
was
used
to
provide
estimates
in
this
table.
See
Table
2
for
actual
responses.
i
Answer
provided
was
a
range.
Midpoint
of
range
was
used
to
produce
point
estimate.
See
Table
2
for
exact
response.
j
Assumes
that
all
unique
products
are
exported
(
5,000
products)
within
the
25,000
shipments.
k
Based
on
the
number
of
products
subject
to
12(
b)
divided
by
the
number
of
exported
products.
May
be
more
than
the
number
of
exported
products
ultimately
requiring
notification.
Table
2.
Detailed
Company
Responses
to
12(
b)
Burden
Questionnaire
Question
Respondent
BASF
Eastman
A.
W.
Chesterton
Bayer
FMC
1.
How
do
you
respond
to
12(
b)
when
the
chemical
in
question
is
present
as
an
impurity
or
residual
in
your
final
product?
Check
supplier
MSDS's
for
12(
b)

components.
Will
flag
12(
b)
chemicals
if
listed
by
supplier.
Known
impurities
(
incl.

those
in
research
samples)
are
reported
in
accordance
with
Section
12(
b)
Does
not
apply
All
known
impurities
are
reported.
All
components,
down
to
less
than
1%
of
final
product,
are
reviewed/
reported.

2.
Do
you
check
for
instances
where
12(
b)
requirements
may
be
triggered
by
impurities?
If
the
supplier
indicates
all
components
of
product
(
incl.

impurities)
then
any
12(
b)
impurities
will
automatically
be
flagged.
Do
not
hunt
for
impurities
if
not
notified
of
their
existence
by
suppliers.
Most
impurities
or
residual
solvents
are
known
and
thus
reported.
Company
will
not
hunt
for
potential
impurities.
Yes
Yes.
Based
on
analytical
data
compiled
for
product
specifications
and
customer
notification.
Do
not
look
specifically
for
impurities.

3.
No.
of
times
12(
b)
is
triggered
by
impurities?
Most
12(
b)

chemicals
at
BASF
are
components
of
final
products,
and
a
large
number
of
these
are
from
impurities
within
the
components
of
the
final
mixtures.
Several
times
per
year
this
is
the
case.
None
95%
of
the
12(
b)

chemicals
encountered
are
low­
level
impurities.
Unknown
4.
Total
no.
of
products?
>
100,000
(
Approx.
1,040
are
new
products
must
be
reviewed
for
applicability
of
12(
b)
each
year)
>
1,000
300
4,000­
6,000
unique
products
500+
Table
2.
Detailed
Company
Responses
to
12(
b)
Burden
Questionnaire
5.
No.
products
exported
yearly?
340a
>
500
(
at
least
half
of
all
products
manufactured)
300
20,000­
30,000
shipments
w/
mixture
of
unique
products.
500+
(
all)

6.
No.
exported
products
subject
to
12(
b)
yearly?
340
>
50
to
100
(
regardless
of
whether
notification
is
ultimately
required)
15
20,000­
30,000
shipments
per
year
w/
mixture
of
unique
products
are
reviewed
for
12(
b).
8
7.
No.
of
12(
b)
notices
sent
to
EPA
yearly?
170
Varies
greatly
from
year
to
year.
10
50­
100
20
a
Refers
to
total
number
of
exported
products
reviewed
for
12(
b),
regardless
of
whether
notifications
were
ultimately
needed.
May
not
reflect
total
number
of
exported
products.

b
Total
number
of
export
shipments
reviewed
via
computerized
tracking
system.
2
See
64
Fed.
Reg.
2486
(
January
14,
1999).
Dear
Sir/
Madam:

We
are
helping
the
U.
S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency
update
their
Information
Collection
Request
(
ICR)
burden
statement
for
the
export
notification
requirements
of
section
12(
b)
of
the
Toxic
Substances
Control
Act
(
TSCA).
2
We
are
speaking
with
a
few
selected
companies
that
must
comply
with
these
regulations
in
order
to
better
understand
the
paperwork
burdens
and
costs
that
they
face.
We'd
appreciate
the
opportunity
to
go
over
the
questions
listed
below
with
you.

We
would
also
like
to
collect
some
specific
data
that
will
help
EPA
understand
the
reporting
burden
associated
with
chemicals
present
as
byproducts
or
impurities.
The
data
you
provide
will
not
appear
in
any
public
documents,
and
will
only
be
aggregated
with
information
gathered
from
a
number
of
other
companies.

(
7)
How
do
you
respond
to
the
12(
b)
requirements
in
a
case
where
the
chemical
triggering
the
requirements
appears
in
your
exported
product
only
as
the
result
of
raw
material
impurity
or
manufacturing
byproduct
(
i.
e.,
the
12(
b)
chemical
is
not
an
intended
component
of
your
final
product)?

(
8)
Do
you
check
for
instances
where
12(
b)
requirements
are
triggered
by
unintended
components
of
your
final
product,
as
described
above?

(
9)
In
a
typical
year,
how
many
times
is
12(
b)
triggered
by
unintended
components
of
your
final
product?

The
following
general
questions
are
to
place
your
answers
from
above
into
perspective
with
your
entire
12(
b)
burden.

(
10)
In
a
typical
year,
what
is
the
number
of
products
you
manufacture?

(
11)
In
a
typical
year,
how
many
of
these
products
do
you
export?

(
12)
In
a
typical
year,
of
those
products
you
export,
how
many
are
subject
to
12(
b)?

(
13)
In
a
typical
year,
how
many
12(
b)
notices
are
sent
to
EPA?

Thank
you
for
your
time
Dina
M.
Metivier
Research
Analyst
(
781)
674­
7301
Eastern
Research
Group,
Inc.,
is
conducting
this
research
under
EPA
Contract
Number:
68­
W­
02­
077.
The
EPA
contact
is
Joe
Callahan
(
202­
564­
8793)
with
the
Office
of
Pollution
Prevention
and
Toxics,
Economic
and
Policy
Analysis
Branch.
