The
Toxic Substances Control Act (
TSCA) is a
United States law, passed by the
United States Congress in 1976 and administered by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency, that regulates the introduction of new or already existing
chemicals. When the TSCA was put into place, all existing chemicals were considered to be safe for use and subsequently
grandfathered in. Its three main objectives are to assess and regulate new commercial chemicals before their entrance into the market, to regulate chemicals (which were already existing in 1976) that posed an "unreasonable risk to health or to the environment", and to regulate these chemicals' distribution and use. However, as explained below, the TSCA specifically regulates
polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) products.