October 30, 2002—U.S. EPA has released the PBT Profiler, an on-line chemical screening tool developed jointly by the Agency, the American Chemistry Council, the Chlorine Chemistry Council, the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association and with contributions from Environmental Defense.
The Profiler screens for potential persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBTs) chemicals—toxic substances that persist for extended periods in the environment and build up in humans and animals.
This new tool allows companies to screen for PBT chemicals faster than traditional methods and to select safer alternatives to PBTs for use in new and existing products.
More than 120 chemical companies and other parties participated in testing the PBT Profiler, including DuPont, PPG Industries, S.C. Johnson and Eastman Kodak.
Since 1999, EPA has required certain additional PBT chemicals to be reported under Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) using a lower reporting threshold than the other TRI chemicals.
For more information on the PBT Profiler, contact the EPA.
