The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published standard ISO/TS 21361:2019, “Nanotechnologies — Method to quantify air concentrations of carbon black and amorphous silica in the nanoparticle size range in a mixed dust manufacturing environment.” The standard provides guidelines to quantify and identify particles of carbon black and/or amorphous silica in air samples collected in a mixed dust industrial manufacturing environment. The guidelines describe air sample...
On May 1, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) sent a memorandum to Alexandria Dapolito Dunn, Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, announcing that it “plans to begin preliminary research on the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics processes to implement the work to meet statutory deadlines of the Lautenberg Act.” OIG’s objectives are to determine whether EPA has met the deadlines...
On April 30, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it would be hosting two webinars for companies, organizations, and individuals required to report under the Mercury Inventory Reporting Rule of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The final rule applies to any person who manufactures (including imports) mercury or mercury-added products, or otherwise intentionally uses mercury in a manufacturing process (including processes traditionally not subject to TSCA,...
On March 5-6, 2019, a workshop on “Fostering EU‐U.S. Cooperation in Nanosafety” was held. According to the workshop report, the workshop intended to answer two main questions: The discussion was based on the state of implementation of the 2013 report, Nanosafety in Europe 2015‐2025: Towards Safe and Sustainable Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology Innovations, and current nanosafety activities coordinated by U.S. federal agencies participating in the U.S. National...
April 29, 2019
Ninth Circuit Issues Order Requiring EPA to Rule on Objections to Denial of Tolerance Revocation for Chlorpyrifos within 90 Days
On April 19, 2019, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Ninth Circuit) issued an order following an en banc rehearing in League of United Latin Am. Citizens (LULAC) v. Wheeler, No. 17-71636. The February 6, 2019, Ninth Circuit decision to grant a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) request for rehearing effectively vacated an August 9, 2018, decision in LULAC that had ordered EPA to revoke all tolerances and cancel all registrations for...
April 26, 2019
Recommendations on Priorities for IARC Monographs Include Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes, Nanomaterials
An Advisory Group of 29 scientists from 18 countries met on March 25-27, 2019, to recommend priorities for the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monographs program during 2020-2024. The Advisory Group assessed the response to a public call for nominations and considered more than 170 unique candidate agents, including the recommended priorities remaining from a similar Advisory Group meeting convened in 2014. The Advisory Group deliberated on all nominated agents both by...
On April 26, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (D.C. Circuit) issued its order on petition for review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory Notification (Active-Inactive) Requirements (82 Fed. Reg. 37520 (Aug. 11, 2017)), which denied the petition for review on all but one claim. Petitioner Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) challenged five distinct features of the Inventory final rule: ...
By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 17, 2019, Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Banque de France, and Frank Edelson, Chair of the Network for Greening the Financial Services (NGFS), published an open letter on the financial implications of global warming. Co-signed by the NGFS coalition, consisting of 34 central banks, the letter warns of global warming’s potential damage to infrastructure and private property, negative human...
April 26, 2019
IRFA Speaks Against SREs For The 2018 RFS Blend Levels
By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 17, 2019, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA), a Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) member, spoke at a press conference alongside Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Naig, on how the approval of small-refinery exemptions (SRE) for the 2018 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) blend levels would undermine RFS in an irreversible way. IRFA’s Executive Director, Monte Shaw, pointed out that under current conditions all a refinery...
April 26, 2019
EPA Announces Proposed Procedures For Review Of CBI Claims For The Identity Of Chemicals On The TSCA
By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 23, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule regarding its plan to review certain confidential business information (CBI) claims to protect the specific chemical identities of substances on the confidential portion of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory. 84 Fed. Reg. 16826. The CBI claims that would be reviewed under this plan are those that were asserted on Notice of Activity (NOA) Form A’s...
On April 23, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it was making available its Interpretive Statement addressing whether the Clean Water Act’s (CWA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program applies to releases of a pollutant from a point source to groundwater (Interpretive Statement) for comment. 84 Fed. Reg. 16810. EPA is issuing the Interpretative statement to “provide clarity on [EPA’s] interpretation...
April 25, 2019
EPA Proposes TSCA CDR Revisions and Update to Small Manufacturer Definition for TSCA Section 8(a)
On April 25, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule that would amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a) Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) requirements and the TSCA Section 8(a) size standards for small manufacturers. 84 Fed. Reg. 17692. The current CDR rule requires manufacturers (including importers) of certain chemical substances listed on the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory (TSCA Inventory) to report data on chemical manufacturing,...
On April 23, 2019, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a Federal Register notice inviting comment on a proposed information collection project entitled “Survey of Engineered Nanomaterial Occupational Safety and Health Practices.” The goal of the project is to assess the relevance and impact of NIOSH’s contribution to guidelines and risk mitigation practices for the safe handling of engineered nanomaterials in the workplace. ...
On May 16, 2019, the American Chemical Society (ACS) will hold a webinar on working safely with nanomaterials in the laboratory. Chuck Geraci, Associate Director for Emerging Technologies at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), will moderate a panel including: The panel will discuss the importance of managing products containing nanomaterials by integrating them into an existing lab safety program. During this free interactive broadcast, they...
April 23, 2019
EPA Announces Proposed Procedures for Review of CBI Claims for the Identity of Chemicals on the TSCA Inventory
On April 23, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule regarding its plan to review certain confidential business information (CBI) claims to protect the specific chemical identities of substances on the confidential portion of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory. 84 Fed. Reg. 16826. The CBI claims that would be reviewed under this plan are those that were asserted on Notice of Activity (NOA) Form A’s filed in accordance with the...
On April 18, 2019, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a Federal Register notice announcing that it is extending the comment period for its February 26, 2019, proposed rule that would put into effect a final monograph for nonprescription, over-the-counter (OTC) sunscreen drug products. The proposed rule describes the conditions under which FDA proposes that OTC sunscreen monograph products are generally recognized as safe and effective (GRASE) and not...
On April 19, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) announced that it will hold a public meeting of the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC) on May 8, 2019, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and May 9, 2019, from 9 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (EDT) in the first-floor conference center at One Potomac Yard South, 2777 South Crystal Drive in Arlington, Virginia. 84 Fed. Reg. 16486. The Federal Register notice states that the agenda is...
April 19, 2019
Warren Writes Article Declaring Her Plan For Public Lands
By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 15, 2019, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wrote an article for Medium Politics, titled “My plan for public lands.” In the article, Warren highlights the importance and value of U.S. public lands and the need to make them part of the climate solution rather than the issue. Emphasizing her position on corporate profits and how they should not be prioritized over local communities’ health and safety, Warren states that...
April 19, 2019
DOE Announces Solar Decathlon Design Challenge Winners
By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 16, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced the winners of DOE’s Solar Decathlon® Design Challenge, which was held at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO, from April 12-14, 2019. The Challenge consisted of ten contests in which student teams designed highly efficient and innovative buildings powered by renewable energy. The winners are teams that best...
April 19, 2019
USDA APHIS Reopens Public Comment Period On The dEIS And PRA
By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 12, 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced the reopening of the public review and comment period for the draft Environmental Impact Statement (dEIS) and the preliminary Pest Risk Assessment (PRA). These two documents have been prepared in response to a permit application from a company requesting the environmental release of genetically engineered (GE) Citrus tristeza virus (CTV). The...