Blogs

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly released a report entitled “New Chemicals Program: EPA Needs a Systematic Process to Better Manage and Assess Performance” on January 22, 2025. GAO states that it was asked to review the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) implementation of its Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) New Chemicals Program. The report summarizes the perspectives of selected manufacturers on EPA’s review process and evaluates the extent to which...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is pleased to present “What’s New with New Approach Methodologies: A Webinar” from 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (EST) on February 13, 2025. New Approach Methodologies (NAM) are being increasingly used throughout the field of toxicology due to scientific, logistical, and ethical advantages, as well as legal requirements. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as directed by the 2016 amendment to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), is...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed on January 17, 2025, to clarify the timeframe for when companies must first notify a customer that one of its mixtures or trade name products contains a per- or polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) listed on the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). 90 Fed. Reg. 5795. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA) adds certain PFAS automatically to the TRI beginning January 1 of the year following specific triggering events....

On January 22, 2025, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment will hold a hearing entitled, “A Decade Later: Assessing the Legacy and Impact of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act.” The Committee website includes the following witness materials: Chris Jahn, President and Chief Executive Officer, American Chemistry Council (ACC), biography and witness testimony; Geoff Moody, Senior Vice President, Government Relations and Policy, American Fuel and...

On January 8, 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $6 million in funding for three projects that will advance biofuel development and support U.S. leadership in energy and emissions innovation. According to BETO, the projects will support research to improve performance and reduce costs of high-impact biofuel production technologies; scale up production systems with industry; and support...

The Subcommittee on Environment of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce has announced that its first hearing of the 119th Congress will focus on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The hearing, “A Decade Later: Assessing the Legacy and Impact of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act,” is scheduled for January 22, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. in Room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building and will be webcast. Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry for...

On January 22, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. (EST), the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment will hold a hearing entitled “A Decade Later: Assessing the Legacy and Impact of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act.” The Committee’s press release notes that “[t]he domestic production of chemicals is critical to the growth of our economy and vital to the success of American manufacturers.” According to the press release, nearly ten years since the Frank R....

On January 7, 2025, Lynn L. Bergeson was interviewed by Christopher Bornmann in Pulling the Threads of the ‘Complicated Patchwork of Federal and State Law’ around PFAS Class Action Lawsuits for the 3E blog. Portions of this article covering the current landscape surrounding PFAS class action lawsuits are shared below by permission. To better understand the current landscape surrounding PFAS class action lawsuits and how companies can protect themselves from litigation, 3E sat down with Lynn...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 14, 2025, a draft risk assessment of the potential human health risks associated with the presence of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) in biosolids, also known as sewage sludge. According to EPA, the findings show that there may be human health risks associated with exposure to PFOA or PFOS with all three methods of using or disposing of sewage sludge -- land application of biosolids,...

The Cookware Sustainability Alliance (CSA) announced on January 9, 2025, that it has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, seeking a preliminary injunction of Minnesota’s ban on the sale of cookware containing intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). CSA v. Kessler (No. 0:25-cv-00041). According to CSA, the chemical coating on nonstick cookware contains fluoropolymers, which “are fundamentally different compounds from the chemicals that...