By Lynn L. Bergeson From June 15-19, 2020, the American Chemical Society (ACS) will be hosting its annual Green Chemistry and Engineering (GC&E) Conference virtually. On June 15, 2020, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (EDT), during the “Enabling a Circular Economy for Materials in the Consumer Goods Industry,” Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., B&C’s Director of Chemistry, will proudly present his abstract titled “Road-map for Innovators - Commercialization in a Circular...
By Lynn L. Bergeson On June 4, 2020, the Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority (MASBDA) announced the creation of the Biofuel Infrastructure Program (BIP). Designed to increase the availability of higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel in Missouri, BIP partners with private entities to support biofuel producers in applying for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development’s Higher Blends Infrastructure Investment Program (HBIIP) funding. The MASBDA Board...
By Lynn L. Bergeson On June 11, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that its Pollution Prevention (P2) Awards Program is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Before proceeding with the ICR, however, EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed ICR. EPA’s P2 Program consists of a voluntary program that encourages businesses and facilities to adopt...
June 10, 2020
France Intends to Improve the Identification and Assessment of Manufactured Nanomaterials in Food
On June 9, 2020, the French National Agency for Food, Environmental, and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES) issued a press release, in French, proposing an inventory of manufactured nanomaterials in food. According to ANSES, manufactured nanomaterials are used in food: As additives to improve the appearance and palatability of the product; As food contact materials to improve food packaging; and As nutrient-oriented ingredients that may be present at the nanoscale. ANSES used data...
On June 3, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a final significant new use rule (SNUR) on long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylate (LCPFAC) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonate (PFAS) chemical substances. On March 3, 2020, EPA published a proposed supplemental SNUR for LCPFAC chemical substances that would make inapplicable the exemption for persons who import a subset of LCPFAC chemical substances as part of surface...
June 9, 2020
EPA OIG Report States Further Efforts Needed to Uphold Scientific Integrity Policy at EPA
On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report entitled Further Efforts Needed to Uphold Scientific Integrity Policy at EPA. OIG conducted an Agency-wide survey to determine whether EPA’s Scientific Integrity Policy is being implemented as intended to ensure scientific integrity throughout EPA. OIG received 4,320 responses (a 23.5 percent response rate), showing that 3,987 respondents were aware of or had some...
June 9, 2020
NIA Survey on “Advanced Materials” Terminology and Relevance to Nanomaterials Closes on June 12
The Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) began a survey on June 4, 2020, inviting commercial actors within the nanomaterials arena (producers, users, and professional providers) to contribute their organization’s perception and use of the term “Advanced Materials.” According to NIA, there is increasing policy focus on the term “Advanced Materials,” with national governments and international frameworks starting to discuss potential safety and regulatory...
The U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) will hold a webinar on June 24, 2020, on “Advances in self-powered wearable sensors: A biofuel-powered electronic skin.” NNI states that the development and commercialization of self-powered, battery-free sensors with wireless capabilities would represent a significant step toward meeting the requirements for next-generation biosensors, medical devices, and robotics. Dr. Wei Gao, California Institute of Technology, will...
June 6, 2020
Ninth Circuit Vacates EPA’s Renewal of Conditional Registrations for Lower Volatility Dicamba Formulations
On June 3, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Ninth Circuit) issued an opinion in National Family Farm Coalition v. EPA, No. 19-70115, vacating the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2018 decisions to extend the conditional registrations for three reduced volatility dicamba herbicides, Bayer’s XtendiMax, Corteva’s FeXapan, and BASF’s Engenia. The manufacturers of these dicamba products designed them to facilitate control of glyphosate...
By Lynn L. Bergeson On June 30, 2020, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (EDT),the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will host a free regulatory training for industry on bioanalysis requirements and expectations. Focused on how FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) approaches various issues in bioanalysis, the workshop aims to provide participants with a better understanding of how FDA performs bioanalysis. Topics to be covered, among others, include: Bioanalytical method...