On April 3, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hosted an interactive telephone call with U.S. retailers and third-party marketplace platforms to discuss imposter disinfectant products and those that falsely claim to be effective against the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19. EPA hosted the call due to recent complaints on the availability of products with unsubstantiated and potentially dangerous claims of protection against SARS-CoV-2 and has enlisted...
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has posted two posters from the NIOSH Nanotechnology Research Center (NTRC) on 3D printing: 3D Printing with Filaments: Health and Safety Questions to Ask and 3D Printing with Metal Powders: Health and Safety Questions to Ask. The posters provide health and safety questions with different control options and information intended to reduce exposure to potential hazards. The questions...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 2, 2020, that it sent a letter to all members of Congress to correct the record on its temporary policy regarding enforcement of environmental legal obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic. EPA states that “[a]s should be apparent to anyone who reads the policy, allegations that EPA ‘will cease all enforcement actions during the coronavirus pandemic’ and that the temporary policy...
April 3, 2020
EPA Announced New Surface Disinfectant Products Added to List N in Effort to Combat COVID-19
On April 2, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the addition of new surface disinfectants on EPA’s List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2 (List N) that may be used to combat SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. List N now contains 357 products. The webpage for List N also now has enhanced functionality to allow users to sort these products by surface type and use site. EPA states that it continues to expedite...
By Lynn L. Bergeson EPA announced on March 26, 2020, a temporary policy regarding enforcement of environmental legal obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic. EPA states that its temporary enforcement discretion policy applies to civil violations during the COVID-19 outbreak. The policy addresses different categories of noncompliance differently. For example, according to EPA, it “does not expect to seek penalties for noncompliance with routine monitoring and reporting obligations that are...
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On March 31, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced its intention to replace eXCHANGE for a new system for funding opportunity announcements (FOA) and application submissions. Starting in Fiscal Year 2021, parties interested in responding to EERE’s opportunities will use the EERE Program Information Center (EPIC). As DOE EERE transitions into EPIC, it is currently...
By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requested written stakeholder input on objectives and opportunities leading to research goals and informed product goals to facilitate transformative breakthroughs that enable U.S. agriculture to meet its goal of increasing agricultural production by 40 percent by 2050.
April 3, 2020
EPA Requests SAB And SAB Standing Committee Nominations
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On April 1, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is now accepting nominations of scientific experts to be considered for appointment to its Science Advisory Board (SAB) and four SAB standing committees. EPA is seeking candidates from a wide range of disciplines including analytical chemistry, forestry, modeling, toxicology, and benefit-cost analysis, among many others. The four SAB standing committees seeking...
On March 30, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Press Release to clarify its Temporary Policy released on March 26, 2020, regarding EPA’s enforcement of environmental legal obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic. A discussion of the Temporary Policy is available on our blog. The impetus for the Press Release was based, according to EPA, on the “reckless propaganda” by certain news outlets that provided erroneous or exaggerated...
April 1, 2020
Acta Group Launches CDR Cross-Check™ To Assist Companies in Identifying Chemical Data Reporting Requirements
The Acta Group (Acta®) announced today the launch of CDR Cross-Check™, an ingenious yet simple tool developed and offered by Acta to assist companies in preparing for the 2020 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). CDR Cross-Check utilizes the most recent CDR listing information publicly available provided by EPA (currently, 2016 lists) to identify whether all or some of a company’s inventory of chemical substances are subject to CDR...