Chemicals previously deemed safe now require new review for new uses

The US environmental regulators are proposing new rules for certain chemicals that were previously approved as safe. If companies want to use these chemicals in new ways, they must now notify the regulators and wait for a new review.

Companies often get a chemical approved for one use, then quietly expand its application to others. This rule means that even if a chemical is initially deemed safe, any new application of it must undergo a fresh safety check. This closes a loophole that allowed chemicals to enter new markets without a full safety assessment.