Blogs

On August 20, 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announced seven additional awards to bioindustrial firms via the Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program (DBIMP), bringing the DBIMP to 13 awards to date totaling $23 million. The following companies will receive funding to produce business and technical plans that detail construction of domestic bioindustrial manufacturing production facilities: Successful projects that were selected under the competitive announcement can receive...

On September 10, 2024, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health will hold a legislative hearing on “Evaluating FDA Human Foods and Tobacco Programs.” According to the Committee’s September 3, 2024, hearing announcement, the hearing will give members a chance to hear from the head of the Human Foods Program, as well as the head of the Tobacco Center, to learn how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is “helping adult smokers quit,...

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced on September 4, 2024, that its Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) is overseeing a call for industry partnerships to connect industry stakeholders with the capabilities of the Feedstock-Conversion Interface Consortium (FCIC). According to DOE, the funding opportunity will provide resources that allow partners to collaborate with FCIC researchers to address the cost and risk impacts of feedstock and process variability across the bioenergy and...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is scheduled to publish a direct final rule on September 5, 2024, that will amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) regulation with reporting and recordkeeping requirements for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to make a “one-time modification” to change the data submission period from November 12, 2024, through May 8, 2025, to July 11, 2025, through January 11, 2026. For any reporter who is reporting exclusively as an article...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a webinar on September 19, 2024, on “A Safer Choice for Cleaning: Increasing Access to Products with Safer Ingredients.” Jennie Romer, EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pollution Prevention, will host a webinar on how EPA’s Safer Choice program helps people find and have access to cleaning and other products made with safer ingredients and how the program works in partnership with a broad range of stakeholders to...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 29, 2024, that it is now accepting nominations for the 2025 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards from companies or institutions that have developed a new green chemistry process or product that helps protect human health and the environment. According to EPA, its “efforts to speed the adoption of this revolutionary and diverse discipline have led to significant environmental benefits, innovation and a strengthened economy.” EPA...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold two virtual public meetings, on September 30 and October 1, 2024, to provide information regarding existing chemical pre-prioritization and prioritization activities under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 89 Fed. Reg. 68894. EPA states in its August 28, 2024, notice that “[t]he purpose of prioritization is to designate a chemical substance as being either high priority for immediate further risk evaluation, or low priority, for...

On August 27, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced that it recently reviewed the following plants modified using genetic engineering to determine whether they posed an increased plant pest risk relative to non-modified comparators: APHIS states that it found these modified plants were unlikely to pose an increased plant pest risk compared to other cultivated plants. As a result, they are not subject to regulation under...

As reported in our July 29, 2024, blog item, on July 27, 2024, Canada’s Minister of the Environment published a Canada Gazette notice announcing a mandatory survey to obtain information on the manufacture, import, and use of 312 specific per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). On September 11, 2024, at 1:30 p.m. (EDT), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) will hold an information session in English on the survey. The session will be non-interactive and will...

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) New Approach Methodologies (NAM) Use for Regulatory Application (NURA) program will hold a series of webinars on human-based methods in U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submissions. PCRM notes that traditionally, submissions have included data from animal studies, but industry has started submitting NAMs. According to PCRM, the use of NAMs in FDA submissions is expected to grow, as many toxicologists seek to use human-based...

On August 20, 2024, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) announced it will launch its electronic pesticide registration system, the California Pesticide Electronic Submission Tracking (CalPEST), on September 24, 2024. The launch of CalPEST will convert its paper-based pesticide registration process to a streamlined electronic system. According to DPR, it is conducting the final stages of testing and has identified areas for improvement in system functionality and security that...

As part of its quadrennial review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) will hold a virtual town hall on September 5, 2024, for stakeholders to share their thoughts on the future of nanotechnology in the United States. The overall objective of NASEM’s review is to identify opportunities and barriers to broadening access to nanotechnology research and development (R&D) infrastructure in the United States. As...

As reported in our August 7, 2024, blog item, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on August 1, 2024, that it will hold a public meeting on September 25, 2024, on the development of an enhanced systematic process for its post-market assessment of chemicals in food. 89 Fed. Reg. 65633. FDA has posted a Discussion Paper Development of an Enhanced Systematic Process for the FDA’s Post-Market Assessment of Chemicals in Food (Discussion Paper)....

On August 18, 2024, Computational Toxicology published an article entitled “Development of chemical categories for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and the proof-of-concept approach to the identification of potential candidates for tiered toxicological testing and human health assessment.” Co-authored by members of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Center for Computational Toxicology & Exposure (CCTE) and Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention...

On August 20, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) ) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for chemical substances, including graphene nanoplatelets (generic), that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN) and a Microbial Commercial Activity Notice (MCAN) and are also subject to a TSCA Order. 89 Fed. Reg. 67368. The SNURs would require persons who intend to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or process...

The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Biomaterials Program published a request for information (RFI) on August 20, 2024. NSF requests input from stakeholders on opportunities, challenges, emerging areas, and frontiers in biomaterials research. 89 Fed. Reg. 67498. According to NSF, the RFI will help inform future program directions, new initiatives, and potential funding opportunities. The Biomaterials Program supports fundamental materials research related to biological materials;...

As part of its implementation of the modernized Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), on August 17, 2024, Health Canada published a Canada Gazette notice announcing the availability of its Science Approach Document — Chemical Screening and Prioritization: Health Canada’s Automated Workflow for Prioritization (HAWPr). The science approach document (SciAD) describes the scientific approach that Canada applied to more than 25,000 chemicals on the Domestic Substances List...

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced on August 14, 2024, a correction to the stoichiometric material consumption equation in the notice of filing for the nylon 6 petition that was published in the February 22, 2024, Federal Register. 89 Fed. Reg. 66175. According to the notice, after the comment period for the original notice closed, an error was discovered in the stoichiometric material consumption equation for nylon 6, and the petitioner subsequently provided a corrected...

The Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) published a blog item on August 14, 2024, announcing the availability of a report highlighting examples of agencies seeking to strengthen public participation and community engagement in the regulatory process. According to OIRA, while agencies have adopted a range of approaches depending on the type of action under consideration and the stakeholders they are seeking to engage, there are four...

On August 8, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it made updates to strengthen the Safer Choice and Design for the Environment (DfE) Standard, which identifies the requirements that products and their ingredients must meet to earn EPA’s Safer Choice label or DfE logo. EPA states these updates strengthen the criteria that products must meet to qualify for the voluntary Safer Choice label, supporting the use of safer chemicals in the marketplace. According...