Blogs

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 15, 2021, a settlement requiring Western Reserve Chemical Corp. (WRCC) in Stow, Ohio, to pay a $357,000 civil penalty for violations of chemical data reporting regulations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  EPA claims that from 2012 to 2015, WRCC failed to submit data reports for 18 chemical substances as required by TSCA.  According to EPA, WRCC imports various chemicals for businesses that formulate rubber,...

Gov4Nano is a Horizon 2020 project that aims to design an effective risk governance process for nanotechnologies, including improving the availability of nano-relevant data.  To meet its aims, Gov4Nano is conducting a “Data Sharing and FAIR Data Use Survey” to obtain views and opinions from data users and producers on data availability and sharing and how these can be improved.  Gov4Nano seeks to determine how barriers to data availability can be lowered and incentives for data...

As reported in our March 9, 2021, blog item, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 8, 2021, that “in accordance with Biden-Harris Administration executive orders and directives,” it is asking for additional public input on five final rules for persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals issued on January 6, 2021, under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  On March 16, 2021, EPA announced that comments on the final rules are...

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) announced on March 15, 2021, that it has begun a public consultation on a draft updated Guidance on the assessment of exposure of operators, workers, residents, and bystanders in risk assessment for plant protection products (PPP).  According to EFSA, the Guidance is designed to assist risk assessors and applicants when quantifying potential non-dietary, systemic exposures as part of the regulatory risk assessment for PPPs.  The Guidance is based on...

Under Canada’s New Substances Fees Regulations, fees must be provided with each New Substance Notification (NSN) package submitted under the New Substance Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers).  The amount of the fee is dependent on the annual sales in Canada for the notifier, the specific Schedule being submitted, and other services being requested (e.g., confidential search on the Domestic Substances List (DSL) or Non-Domestic Substances List (NDSL) or masked name...

As reported in our April 30, 2021, blog item, on April 29, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of a list of 390 chemicals that it states are “expected to lose their confidential status and move to the public portion of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory, furthering the agency’s commitment to data transparency.” EPA announced on May 14, 2021, that it is extending the notification deadline to June...

On March 3, 2021, Representatives Frank Lucas (R-OK), Ranking Member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee; Stephanie Bice (R-OK), Ranking Member of the Environment Subcommittee; and Jay Obernolte (R-CA), Ranking Member of the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee, sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging EPA to expedite any reevaluation of the Toxic Substances Control Act’s (TSCA) systematic review methods.  As reported in our...

On March 4, 2021, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) announced that it is recommending an eight-hour occupational exposure limit (OEL) of 0.80 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) for titanium dioxide nanoparticles.  According to ANSES, compliance with this value “should help prevent lung inflammation, an effect that occurs at the lowest exposure concentrations.”  Due to the lack of available data on the immediate or...

On March 5, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that “in support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to making evidence-based decisions to protect human health, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking an important step by proposing the cancellation of the registration of pentachlorophenol.” Pentachlorophenol, a well-recognized wood preservative in use for decades, is registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 8, 2021, that “in accordance with Biden-Harris Administration executive orders and directives,” it is asking for additional public input on five final rules for persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals issued on January 6, 2021, under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  EPA states that as a first step in its efforts to review these rules immediately, EPA is opening a 60-day comment period for...

On March 5, 2021, the European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) published its final opinion on copper (nano) and colloidal copper (nano).  According to the final opinion, nine manufacturers notified the EC about 36 different products containing nanosized copper.  After initial evaluation and a request for additional information, two manufacturers withdrew their products from the notification, and these seven products were excluded from evaluation,...

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a fully remote hearing on March 10, 2021, on “The Path Forward:  Restoring the Vital Mission of EPA.”  According to the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s March 3, 2021, press release, the hearing will examine the “critical need to restore the mission” of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and how EPA “can address climate change and other urgent challenges to the nation’s...

On March 10, 2021, the Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) will hold a webinar on “Designing a global trade strategy for nanomaterials.”  NIA Director General Chiara Venturini will begin the webinar by providing an overview of recent and upcoming global trade developments.  Ted Kalmbach, Chief Strategy Officer at NIA member BNNANO, will discuss the experience of a U.S.-based nanomaterial company on growing international sales and partnerships, addressing when and how to consider...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On March 2, 2021, the University of Southern California (USC) Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies on Santa Catalina Island announced a new aquaculture technique that increases dramatically kelp growth and, consequently, yields four times more biomass than other natural processes. Using a “kelp elevator,” this new technique optimizes growth for bronze-colored floating algae by raising and lowering it to...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On March 3, 2021, the co-chairs of the House Biofuels Caucus, U.S. Representatives Cindy Axne (D-IA) and Rodney Davis (R-IL), introduced the Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Investment and Market Expansion Act, which would expand access to higher biofuel blends. Building off the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Higher Blends Infrastructure Inventive Program, this bill intends to provide consistent federal investment...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On March 1, 2021, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) announced the American Jobs in Energy Manufacturing Act of 2021 (Act), which would incentivize domestic manufacturing of energy technologies by providing tax credits for domestic manufacturers in rural areas. The Act encourages the transition to cleaner energy by driving reinvestment into communities that have been most impacted by economic downturn....

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On February 22, 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) announced its comprehensive strategy to decarbonize transportation by 30-85 percent by 2050. A strategy based on research and engineering, it aims to enable industry stakeholders, government bodies, communities, and early adopters to meet their climate goals. In a nutshell, the strategy takes a whole-system approach to...

By Richard E. Engler, Ph.D. In the 21st century, we take as given a continuous stream of new and better products. From electronics to building materials to transportation solutions, the flow of new and better products and applications seems unending. New chemical substances play a fundamental role in creating those products and making existing products better. If the pipeline of new chemicals were closed off, the flow of new products and applications would slow to a trickle and eventually dry...

On March 2, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it reached a settlement agreement with Brenntag Pacific, Inc. for violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  According to EPA, Brenntag Pacific, Inc. has corrected the violations and will pay a $128,265 fine.  EPA states that it discovered the violations following inspections at Brenntag Pacific, Inc. facilities in Fairbanks, Alaska, and in Santa Fe Springs, California.  EPA inspectors “found the...

Registration is open for the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative’s (NNI) March 23, 2021, webinar on “What We Know About NanoEHS:  Human Exposure.”  The webinar will feature experts from diverse disciplines to share their perspectives on key findings in quantifying and assessing the effects of human exposure to nanomaterials.  Keana Scott, Ph.D., Physical Scientist, Materials Measurement Science Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology...

On March 2, 2021, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published its latest High Risk List, which includes 36 areas across the federal government vulnerable to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement or needing broad-based transformation.  According to GAO, five areas have regressed since 2019, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) process for assessing and controlling toxic chemicals.  GAO’s report, High-Risk Series: Dedicated Leadership Needed to Address...

The March 2021 issue of Environmental Factor, a monthly newsletter published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), includes an item entitled “New graphene nanochannel filters hold promise for contaminant clean-up.”  According to the item, an NIEHS-funded study found a new strategy to design nanomaterials to filter contaminants better from water.  To improve the usefulness of graphene oxide nanosheets for filtering contaminants from liquid, the...

On March 1, 2021, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly released a report entitled Man-Made Chemicals and Potential Health Risks:  EPA Has Completed Some Regulatory-Related Actions for PFAS.  GAO was asked to examine the status of regulatory-related actions in EPA’s 2019 Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Action Plan.  GAO found that EPA completed three of six selected regulatory-related actions for addressing PFAS outlined in the PFAS...

On February 5, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is reviewing actions issued under the previous Administration and will take any needed steps to ensure that they protect human health and the environment.  The announcement included an update on the following chemical safety actions that have immediate or near-term effective dates or other steps associated with them.  According to the announcement, these actions, along with other chemical safety...

The Verband der Mineralfarbenindustrie e. V. (VdMi), which represents German manufacturers of inorganic, organic, and metallic pigments, fillers, carbon black, ceramic and glass colors, food colorants, artists’ and school paints, masterbatches, and products for applied photocatalysis, has published a “Comparative Compilation of relevant nano definitions in different regulations and their corresponding consequences.”  The compilation notes that pigments and fillers often fall under the...

On February 23, 2021, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) announced that in association with other relevant Directorates-General (DG) of the European Commission (EC), DG Environment has opened a call for applications to select members for an expert group, the High-Level Roundtable on Implementation of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability.  According to EU-OSHA, the expert group’s mission “is to set the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability...

On February 19, 2021, the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) published a Nanopinion entitled “eREACHNano helps you to register nanoforms under REACH” by Dorte Rasmussen, Ph.D., who has been working on the exposure and risk assessment of chemicals at DHI A/S for almost 25 years.  Rasmussen describes eREACHNano, a tool developed to explain Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation requirements for nanoforms. ...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 19, 2021, that it is inviting small businesses, governments, and not-for-profits to participate as Small Entity Representatives (SER) to provide advice and recommendations to a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) Panel for C.I. Pigment Violet 29 (PV29).  The Panel will focus on EPA’s development of a proposed rule to address unreasonable risks identified in EPA’s recently completed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 19, 2021, that it is extending the public comment period on proposed updates to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) fees rule to give stakeholders more time to review and comment.  The current comment period was set to close on February 25, 2021.  EPA is extending the comment period an additional 30 days.  Information on the proposed updates is available in our December 30, 2020, memorandum, “EPA Intends Proposed...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published the latest edition of the Developments in Delegations on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials — Tour de Table.  The Tour de Table compiles information provided by delegations on the occasion of the 20th meeting of the OECD Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) in September 2020.  Below are highlights from the Tour de Table: Canada: Canada is developing a nanomaterial...

 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 18, 2021, that it is opening a public comment period for a manufacturer-requested risk evaluation of octahydro-tetramethyl-naphthalenyl-ethanone (OTNE), a category of chemical substances consisting of four inseparable individual isomers.  EPA notes that two chemicals in the OTNE category are considered persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals under TSCA, “meaning they are toxic, can remain in the...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 11, 2021, that it is inviting small businesses, governments, and not-for-profits to participate as Small Entity Representatives (SER) to provide advice and recommendations to a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) Panel for asbestos, part 1:  chrysotile asbestos.  The Panel will focus on EPA’s development of a proposed rule to address unreasonable risks identified in EPA’s recently completed Toxic Substances Control...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 9, 2021, that it will host two webinars intended to educate stakeholders on the risk management process under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the findings in the final risk evaluations for pigment violet 29 (PV29) and n-methylpyrrolidone (NMP).  The webinars will also allow the public to provide input on considerations EPA should take into account for managing any unreasonable risks found with these chemicals. ...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is scheduled to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on February 16, 2021, that would modify the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to conform to the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) Revision 7 “to address issues that arose during the implementation of the 2012 update to the HCS, and provide better alignment with other U.S. agencies and international...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published on February 8, 2021, a periodic update of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) confidential business information (CBI) review statistics.  TSCA Section 14(g)(1) requires that EPA, within 90 days of receipt of a CBI claim: Review and make determinations on CBI claims for chemical identity after the chemical substance has been offered for commercial distribution; and Review and make determinations on a representative subset of...

In December 2020, the European Commission (EC) Directorate-General (DG) for Research and Innovation opened a call for tenders for “Providing market data about nanotechnology to enhance transparency.”  The description states that the study on nanotechnology/nanomaterials is aimed to provide a new set of data from the period of 2017 to 2020 into the NanoData database, available on the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) website.  This study will follow up on...

The American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education (ALI CLE) and the Environmental Law Institute’s (ELI) Environmental Law 2021 webcast educates lawyers on key current environmental law issues, including the latest developments in air, water, endangered species, climate change, chemicals, and renewable energy. A national faculty of seasoned private practitioners, governmental officials, law professors, and public interest advocates will cover what to expect from the change of...

The United Kingdom (UK) completed its withdrawal from the European Union (EU) on December 31, 2020, and, as of January 1, 2021, is a “third country” from the EU perspective.  Companies worldwide must be aware of the significant implications for compliance under the following newly established independent chemical regulatory regimes:  the Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) (GB) Biocidal Products Regulation (GB BPR); the GB Classification, Labeling, and Packaging Regulation...

By   Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On January 19, 2021, EPA issued a request for comment on petitions submitted in 2020 for a waiver of the RFS obligations that apply to 2019 and 2020. The petitions argue that recent events warrant EPA exercising its general waiver authority on the basis of severe economic harm. In late March 2020, a group of small refineries requested a waiver of the 2019 and 2020 RFS obligations. In April 2020, Governors of several states...

By   Lynn L. Bergeson  On January 12, 2021, EPA and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that advances collaboration and communication on EPA’s review of new chemicals under TSCA. EPA states that the MOU provides a framework for coordination and communication between the two agencies on exposure to new chemicals in the workplace and will help achieve the agencies’ shared goal of ensuring workers are...

By   Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A.  EPA, on January 15, 2021, issued a proposed rule to modify certain compliance dates under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The proposed deadline extension for the 2019 compliance year and the associated deadline for submission of attest engagement reports for the 2019 compliance year for small refineries are as follows: November 30, 2021, and June 1, 2022, respectively. The second extension would be for the 2020...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On January 27, 2021, U.S. President Biden signed an “Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” which established a National Climate Task Force (Task Force) and puts the climate crisis at the forefront of U.S. domestic and foreign policy. Highlighting the urgency in addressing the climate crisis, this EO requires short-term global reductions of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and net-zero...

By Lynn L. Bergeson  On January 13, 2021, DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced the availability of $123.6 million in funding and $44.7 million of cost share available for 46 projects to stimulate technology innovation, improve energy productivity of American manufacturing, and enable the manufacturing of cutting-edge products in the United States. The 46 projects that will be selected under this funding opportunity announcement will focus in...

By   Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On January 19, 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released its Plastics Innovation Challenge Draft Roadmap (Draft Roadmap) alongside a Request for Information (RFI) seeking stakeholder input on the draft document. The Plastics Innovation Challenge is a DOE program focused on accelerating innovations in energy-efficient plastic recycling technologies. The aim of the Plastics Innovation Challenge is to make domestic...

By Lynn L. Bergeson  On February 1, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana granted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) January 31, 2021, unopposed motion to vacate and remand its January 6, 2021, final rule on “Strengthening Transparency in Pivotal Science Underlying Significant Regulatory Actions and Influential Scientific Information” (86 Fed. Reg. 469). EDF v. EPA, No. 4:21-cv-03-BMM. On January 11, 2021, the Environmental Defense...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a webinar on February 18, 2021, “to educate stakeholders on proposed revisions to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Fees Rule announced in December 2020.”  The webinar will also provide stakeholders an opportunity to provide comment to EPA on the proposed changes.  Stakeholders who would like to provide oral comments during the webinar must register by 5:00 p.m. (EST) on February 16, 2021.  Stakeholders may register as...

In the 21st century, we take as given a continuous stream of new and better products. From electronics to building materials to transportation solutions, the flow of new and better products and applications seems unending. New chemical substances play a fundamental role in creating those products and making existing products better. If the pipeline of new chemicals were closed off, the flow of new products and applications would slow to a trickle and eventually dry up. Modern life as we know it...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 3, 2021, the latest update to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory, “a list of all existing chemical substances manufactured, processed, or imported” in the United States.  EPA states that this biannual update to the public TSCA Inventory is part of its regular posting of non-confidential TSCA Inventory data.  EPA plans to release the next regular update of the Inventory in summer 2021.  According to EPA,...

On January 19, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the issuance of a Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Section 18 emergency exemption to the states of Oklahoma and Arkansas, permitting American Airlines to use SurfaceWise2, believed to inactivate coronaviruses like the SARS-CoV-2 virus on surfaces, in specific airport facilities and planes.  EPA also has revised the terms of use for SurfaceWise2 for all current emergency...

On February 1, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana granted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) January 31, 2021, unopposed motion to vacate and remand its January 6, 2021, final rule on “Strengthening Transparency in Pivotal Science Underlying Significant Regulatory Actions and Influential Scientific Information” (86 Fed. Reg. 469).  EDF v. EPA, No. 4:21-cv-03-BMM.  On January 11, 2021, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Montana...