Document ID: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2009-0929-0003
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2010-03-24T04:00Z

TITLE 15 - US CODE - COMMERCE AND TRADE - CHAPTER 53 - TOXIC SUBSTANCES
CONTROL - SUBCHAPTER I - CONTROL OF TOXIC SUBSTANCES

15 USC 2613 – Disclosure of data

(a) In general 

Except as provided by subsection (b) of this section, any information
reported to, or otherwise obtained by, the Administrator (or any
representative of the Administrator) under this chapter, which is exempt
from disclosure pursuant to subsection (a) of section 552 of title 5 by
reason of subsection (b)(4) of such section, shall, notwithstanding the
provisions of any other section of this chapter, not be disclosed by the
Administrator or by any officer or employee of the United States, except
that such information

(1) shall be disclosed to any officer or employee of the United States

(A) in connection with the official duties of such officer or employee
under any law for the protection of health or the environment, or 

(B) for specific law enforcement purposes; 

(2) shall be disclosed to contractors with the United States and
employees of such contractors if in the opinion of the Administrator
such disclosure is necessary for the satisfactory performance by the
contractor of a contract with the United States entered into on or after
October 11, 1976, for the performance of work in connection with this
chapter and under such conditions as the Administrator may specify; 

(3) shall be disclosed if the Administrator determines it necessary to
protect health or the environment against an unreasonable risk of injury
to health or the environment; or 

(4) may be disclosed when relevant in any proceeding under this
chapter, except that disclosure in such a proceeding shall be made in
such manner as to preserve confidentiality to the extent practicable
without impairing the proceeding. 

In any proceeding under section   HYPERLINK
"http://openjurist.org/5/usc/552"  552    HYPERLINK
"http://openjurist.org/5/usc/552" \l "a"  (a)  of title   HYPERLINK
"http://openjurist.org/5/usc"  5  to obtain information the disclosure
of which has been denied because of the provisions of this subsection,
the Administrator may not rely on section 552(b)(3) of such title to
sustain the Administrators action. 

(b) Data from health and safety studies 

(1) Subsection (a) does not prohibit the disclosure of

(A) any health and safety study which is submitted under this chapter
with respect to

(i) any chemical substance or mixture which, on the date on which such
study is to be disclosed has been offered for commercial distribution,
or 

(ii) any chemical substance or mixture for which testing is required
under section   HYPERLINK "http://openjurist.org/15/usc/2603"  2603  of
this title or for which notification is required under section  
HYPERLINK "http://openjurist.org/15/usc/2604"  2604  of this title, and 

(B) any data reported to, or otherwise obtained by, the Administrator
from a health and safety study which relates to a chemical substance or
mixture described in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A). 

This paragraph does not authorize the release of any data which
discloses processes used in the manufacturing or processing of a
chemical substance or mixture or, in the case of a mixture, the release
of data disclosing the portion of the mixture comprised by any of the
chemical substances in the mixture. 

(2) If a request is made to the Administrator under subsection (a) of
section 552 of title 5 for information which is described in the first
sentence of paragraph (1) and which is not information described in the
second sentence of such paragraph, the Administrator may not deny such
request on the basis of subsection (b)(4) of such section. 

(c) Designation and release of confidential data 

(1) In submitting data under this chapter, a manufacturer, processor,
or distributor in commerce may

(A)  designate the data which such person believes is entitled to
confidential treatment under subsection (a) of this section, and 

(B)  submit such designated data separately from other data submitted
under this chapter. A designation under this paragraph shall be made in
writing and in such manner as the Administrator may prescribe. 

(2) 

(A) Except as provided by subparagraph (B), if the Administrator
proposes to release for inspection data which has been designated under
paragraph (1)(A), the Administrator shall notify, in writing and by
certified mail, the manufacturer, processor, or distributor in commerce
who submitted such data of the intent to release such data. If the
release of such data is to be made pursuant to a request made under
section   HYPERLINK "http://openjurist.org/5/usc/552"  552    HYPERLINK
"http://openjurist.org/5/usc/552" \l "a"  (a)  of title   HYPERLINK
"http://openjurist.org/5/usc"  5 , such notice shall be given
immediately upon approval of such request by the Administrator. The
Administrator may not release such data until the expiration of 30 days
after the manufacturer, processor, or distributor in commerce submitting
such data has received the notice required by this subparagraph. 

(B) 

(i) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the release of information
under paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4) of subsection (a) of this section,
except that the Administrator may not release data under paragraph (3)
of subsection (a) of this section unless the Administrator has notified
each manufacturer, processor, and distributor in commerce who submitted
such data of such release. Such notice shall be made in writing by
certified mail at least 15 days before the release of such data, except
that if the Administrator determines that the release of such data is
necessary to protect against an imminent, unreasonable risk of injury to
health or the environment, such notice may be made by such means as the
Administrator determines will provide notice at least 24 hours before
such release is made. 

(ii) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the release of information
described in subsection (b)(1) of this section other than information
described in the second sentence of such subsection. 

(d) Criminal penalty for wrongful disclosure 

(1) Any officer or employee of the United States or former officer or
employee of the United States, who by virtue of such employment or
official position has obtained possession of, or has access to, material
the disclosure of which is prohibited by subsection (a) of this section,
and who knowing that disclosure of such material is prohibited by such
subsection, willfully discloses the material in any manner to any person
not entitled to receive it, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined
not more than $5,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.
Section   HYPERLINK "http://openjurist.org/18/usc/1905"  1905  of title 
 HYPERLINK "http://openjurist.org/18/usc"  18  does not apply with
respect to the publishing, divulging, disclosure, or making known of, or
making available, information reported or otherwise obtained under this
chapter. 

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), any contractor with the United
States who is furnished information as authorized by subsection (a)(2)
of this section, and any employee of any such contractor, shall be
considered to be an employee of the United States. 

(e) Access by Congress 

Notwithstanding any limitation contained in this section or any other
provision of law, all information reported to or otherwise obtained by
the Administrator (or any representative of the Administrator) under
this chapter shall be made available, upon written request of any duly
authorized committee of the Congress, to such committee.