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December 11, 2017

Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Quoted in Chemical Watch “OPPT director defends US agency plans for new chemical evaluation”

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.

On December 11, 2017, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Senior Chemist at Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was quoted in Chemical Watch regarding concerns with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plan to move away from consent orders in favor of Significant New Use Rules (SNURs) when regulating potential uses of new chemicals.

When the situation described in a pre-manufacture notice (PMN) is not of concern, but there is a potential use of the new chemical that would raise risk concerns, the EPA used to issue consent orders restricting how it can be used, followed by a Snur requiring additional review when someone proposed a different use.

But just issuing the Snur “would accomplish the same objective [and] be equally protective,” while eliminating a step, said Jeff Morris, director of EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.

[…]

“Has EPA made any ‘not likely to present’ findings for a new chemical for which EPA has identified a hazard?” asked Rich Engler, a senior chemist at Bergeson & Campbell.

See – https://chemicalwatch.com/62450/oppt-director-defends-us-agency-plans-for-new-chemical-evaluation