WASHINGTON (AP) The Biden administration has initiated a formal evaluation of risks posed by vinyl chloride, the cancer-causing chemical that burned in a towering plume of toxic black smoke following a fiery train derailment earlier this year in eastern Ohio.

The Environmental Protection Agency said it will review risks posed by a handful of chemicals, including vinyl chloride, which is used to make a variety of plastic products, including pipes, wire and packaging materials. The chemical is found in polyvinyl chloride plastic, better known as PVC.

The EPA said it will study vinyl chloride to determine whether it poses an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment, a process that would take at least three years.

Vinyl chloride is one of five chemicals the agency is reviewing, including four that are used to make plastics. Other chemicals set for review under the federal Toxic Substances Control Act include acetaldehyde, acrylonitrile, benzenamine, and a compound known as MBOCA.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, EPA has made significant progress ... to strengthen our nations chemical safety laws after years of mismanagement and delay. Today marks an important step forward, said Michal Freedhoff, assistant EPA administrator for chemical safety and pollution prevention.