The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the draft risk evaluation of asbestos on March 30, 2020. EPA reviewed a suite of potential asbestos exposures and made the following initial determinations on risk: EPA did not find risk to the environment. For all the conditions of use included in the draft risk evaluation, EPA has preliminarily found no unreasonable risks to the environment under any of the conditions of use. EPA’s draft risk evaluation...
April 1, 2020
Acta Group Launches CDR Cross-Check™ To Assist Companies in Identifying Chemical Data Reporting Requ
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...
March 31, 2020
EPA Announces Additional Action to Assure Availability of Disinfectant Products for Use Against the Novel Coronavirus
On March 31, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is taking further action to help ease the production and availability of EPA-registered disinfectants by temporarily allowing manufacturers of certain already-registered EPA disinfectant products to obtain certain active ingredients from any source without prior approval from EPA. This only applies to products on EPA’s List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2 (List N). EPA announced on...
March 31, 2020
NNI Releases “Nano Matters” Podcast Episode on Improving Pesticide Use with Nanotechnology
On March 30, 2020, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) released a “Nano Matters” podcast episode on “Improving Pesticide Use with Nanotechnology.” In the episode, Cristina Sabliov, Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at Louisiana State University, explains how nanotechnology can improve pesticide delivery. She discusses her work on a polymeric nanoparticle delivery system that could reduce the environmental impact of pesticides. “Nano...
On March 30, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the 2020 Mercury Inventory Report on the supply, use, and trade of mercury in the United States. The report presents aggregated data submitted on imported mercury, mercury manufactured in the United States, imported mercury-added products, mercury-added products made in the United States, and mercury used in manufacturing processes. The inventory report also provides a broad view of U.S. mercury...
March 30, 2020
EPA to Schedule FIFRA SAP Meeting on New Approaches to Human Health Risk Assessment for Organophosphates
In September 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) plans to convene a Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) meeting to discuss New Approach Methodologies (NAM) for organophosphate (OP) pesticides. EPA states that these NAMs could reduce reliance on default uncertainty factors for human health risk assessment and also reduce animal testing. Under Administrator Wheeler’s...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (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...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (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...
March 27, 2020
Yvette T. Collazo Will Be New Director Of EPA’s OPPT
By Lynn L. Bergeson Effective March 29, 2020, Yvette T. Collazo will be the new Director of EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT). Ms. Collazo previously worked for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), where she led activities related to federal contracts and agreements of more than $250 million for the cleanup of radiological, industrial, and groundwater hazards resulting from decades of nuclear material production at DOE’s Savannah River facility. Ms. Collazo also...
By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 25, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a meeting of the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee (BERAC). The meeting will be held digitally via webcast on April 16, 2020, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EDT). Information on how to access the meeting will be posted here. Tentative agenda topics include: BERAC business and discussion; News from the Biological Systems Science and Climate and Environmental Sciences Divisions; News from the...