Opinion ID: 4227268
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Legislative Response

Text: Six years after Monsanto removed PCB-containing Aroclors from the market, Congress enacted the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), 15 U.S.C. § 2601, et. seq., which prohibited (with limited exceptions) the manufacture and distribution of PCBs in commerce. Id. § 2605(e)(2). The TSCA authorized the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement specific regulations regarding PCB use and disposal. See id. Following this authorization in 1976, the EPA promulgated regulations which required entities to obtain an exemption for the continued use of PCBs in a non-enclosed manner - 7 - at concentrations above 50 parts-per-million. See 40 C.F.R. § 761.20(c)(1). As justification for its decision, the agency pointed to, inter alia, the well-documented human health and environmental hazard of PCB exposure, [and] the high probability of human and environmental exposure to PCBs and PCB Items from manufacturing, processing, or distribution activities. Id. § 761.20.