On August 2, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report entitled The EPA Lacks Complete Guidance for the New Chemicals Program to Ensure Consistency and Transparency in Decisions. According to OIG, EPA’s New Chemicals Division (NCD) “lacks assurance that the new chemicals review process operates as intended and achieves its objective to protect human health and the environment.” OIG made four recommendations, including that EPA develop, update, and issue final guidance for the New Chemicals Program; assess and update NCD’s recordkeeping applications, as needed; and address workload issues. EPA agreed to all four recommendations, “which are resolved with corrective actions pending.”
