Designation of Propionyl Chloride as a List I Chemical (DEA1189)

The Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing the control of propionyl chloride as a list I chemical under the Controlled Substances Act. The DEA finds that propionyl chloride is used in the illicit manufacture of the controlled substances fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and fentanyl-related substances, and is important to the manufacture of these substances. In the respective synthetic pathways in which it is used to manufacture those substances, it is a replacement for propionic anhydride, which is currently a list I chemical. The proposed rule would subject handlers of propionyl chloride to the chemical regulatory provisions of the CSA and its implementing regulations.