What: On September 17, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published an interim final rule extending some compliance dates for the rule regulating trichloroethylene (TCE) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
Why: TCE is used mostly in industrial and commercial processes. Consumer uses include cleaning and furniture care products, arts and crafts spray coatings, and automotive care products like brake cleaners. The EPA issued a final TCE rule on December 17, 2024, which is currently being litigated.
In this interim final rule, the EPA is taking the following actions:
- Extending the prohibition compliance date for the use of TCE as a processing aid in the manufacture of nuclear fuel to September 15, 2028.
- Extending the prohibition compliance date for the disposal of TCE to wastewater by processors of TCE and processors and industrial and commercial users of TCE as a processing aid, to December 18, 2026.
- Extending the compliance deadline for downstream notification and the text required to be present in Safety Data Sheets to accurately reflect the new prohibition compliance deadline for TCE used as a processing aid in the manufacture of nuclear fuel until December 16, 2025.
In 2023, the Office of Advocacy submitted a comment letter to the EPA urging that the TCE rule be reconsidered because it did not properly consider small business feedback, exceeded the agency’s statutory authority, and was duplicative of existing federal regulations.
Action: The interim final rule is effective on September 17, 2025.
PREVIOUSLY FILED COMMENT LETTER:
Comment submitted by Small Business Administration
FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE:
Trichloroethylene; Regulation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act; Compliance Date Extension
2024 FINAL TCE RULE:
Trichloroethylene; Regulation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act
CONTACT: Nick Goldstein
EMAIL: nick.goldstein@sba.gov
TAG(S): EPA
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