Blogs

By Lynn L. Bergeson On Wednesday, November 13, 2019, at 3:00 p.m. (EST), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a webinar on the Green Chemistry Challenge Awards Program.  Participants learned about applying for the 2020 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards.  The webinar presentation covered award eligibility, the application process, and evaluation criteria.  There were also questions from the webinar participants. As reported in Bergeson &...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 12, 2019, DOE published a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for topics for its Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I Release 2 funding. Participating in this FOA are the following DOE program offices: Office of Cyber Security, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER);   Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (NNSA);   Office of Electricity (OE);   EERE;...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 8, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that $12 million will be available in funds for new projects to support research and development (R&D) and education and workforce development to increase plastics recovery, recycling, reuse, and remanufacturing. Designed for U.S. manufacturers, 12 to 18 exploratory and full R&D projects and four to eight education and workforce development projects will be funded by DOE’s Reducing Embodied...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on November 13, 2019, that it published “new, easily-searchable” web pages displaying information on: Premanufacture Notices (PMN), Significant New Use Notices (SNUN), Microbial Commercial Activity Notices (MCAN), and Test Market Exemption Applications (TMEA); Notices of Commencement of Manufacture or Import (NOC); and Test information submitted under Section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA notes that it is required...

The German Environment Agency (UBA) will hold a conference on December 5-6, 2019, on “Advanced Materials — 1st Thematic Conference.”  UBA uses the term “advanced materials” to refer to a heterogeneous group of new or modified materials with improved properties for intended applications.  According to UBA, for a certain number of these new materials, their potential risk may not be driven by their chemical identity alone but may also be determined by their physical and morphological...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice on November 12, 2019, announcing the availability of its response to a petition it received under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).  84 Fed. Reg. 60986.  As reported in our August 23, 2019, blog item, PEER petitioned EPA under TSCA Section 21 to prohibit the use of hydrofluoric acid in manufacturing processes at oil refineries...

On Wednesday, November 13, 2019, at 3:00 p.m. (EST), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a webinar on the Green Chemistry Challenge Awards Program.  Participants will learn more about applying for the 2020 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards.  The webinar presentation will cover award eligibility, the application process, and evaluation criteria.  There will also be time for questions from the webinar participants. As reported in our September 20, 2019, blog item, EPA...

On November 8, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking regarding revisions to the confidential business information (CBI) substantiation requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  84 Fed. Reg. 60363.  EPA states that in response to a recent federal circuit court decision, it is proposing revisions to existing and proposed substantiation requirements for...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 4, 2019, 60 organizations unified in an effort to urge U.S. President Donald Trump to reconsider EPA’s proposed amendments to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. Signed by organizations such as the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), a Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) member, the letter to the President indicates flaws within the aforementioned proposal released on October 15, 2019. Arguing that the proposed...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On October 30, 2019, EPA announced that in response to an April 2019 court decision on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory Notification (Active-Inactive) Requirements Final Rule, EPA will publish a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking that includes two additional questions about “reverse engineering” that manufacturers and processors would be required to answer when making confidential business information (CBI) claims. According to EPA, these...