Blogs

By Kathleen M. Roberts On December 8, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice in the Federal Register regarding its plans to submit an information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on recordkeeping and reporting for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.  The notices states that the ICR aims to streamline and update estimates related to the RFS program and consolidate all RFS estimates into one, consistent, and...

The American Bar Association (ABA) Pesticides, Chemical Regulation, and Right-to-Know (PCRRTK) Committee is collaborating with David Rejeski, Director of the Technology, Innovation, and Environmental Project at the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), on a project involving the law, regulation, and policy of cannabis.  David has written extensively on the topic, one example of which is his article “Cannabis. The ‘Next Big Thing’ for the Environment?”  Federal Insecticide,...

On November 30, 2017, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) held a webinar to explain the support documentation available for registrants that cover nanoforms in their Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) registration dossier.  The main focus was on the registration and read-across of nanoforms, but the webinar also covered updates for information requirements for human health and the environment.  ECHA has posted the following...

On December 11, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) convened its public meeting on possible approaches for identifying potential candidates for prioritization under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  Key presenters were Jeffery Morris, Ph.D., Directory of OPPT, as well as several other OPPT staff, Health Canada (HC) and Environmental and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), and Russell S. Thomas with EPA’s...

In December 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) published WHO Guidelines on Protecting Workers from Potential Risks of Manufactured Nanomaterials.  WHO developed the Guidelines, which provide recommendations on how best to protect workers from the potential risks of manufactured nanomaterials (MNM).  According to WHO, its recommendations are intended to help policy-makers and professionals in the field of occupational health and safety in making decisions about the best...

On December 11, 2017, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Fourth Circuit) case on the petition for review of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) framework rule Procedures for Chemical Risk Evaluation under TSCA (Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments v. EPA, Case Nos. 17-1926, 17-2040, and 17-2244 (consolidated)), the Fourth Circuit granted the petitioners’ motions to transfer to the Ninth Circuit.  This was not entirely unexpected, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for...

In November 2017, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published standard ISO/TS 20787:2017, “Nanotechnologies — Aquatic toxicity assessment of manufactured nanomaterials in saltwater lakes using Artemia sp. Nauplii.”  ISO/TS 20787:2017 specifies a test method, aiming to maximize repeatability and reliability of testing, to determine whether manufactured nanomaterials are toxic to aquatic organisms, specifically Artemia sp. nauplius.  ISO states that ISO/TS...

On November 23, 2017, the French National Research and Safety Institute for the Prevention of Occupational Accidents and Diseases (INRS) published a report summarizing studies and research completed in 2016 and in progress in 2017.  According to the report, INRS action on manufactured nanomaterials has three objectives:  (1) making knowledge on hazards available to the working world; (2) designing tools for identifying, characterizing, and measuring occupational exposures;...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On December 1, 2017, Neste, a member of BRAG, announced that its Ham Trick (Kinkkutemppu in Finnish) campaign was awarded two prestigious marketing and communications competitions.  The Ham Trick, which is a campaign in which Neste collects and recycles ham waste fat from 100,000 households throughout Finland for manufacturing renewable diesel, won gold at the 2017 European Excellence Awards (EEA) and bronze in the PR category at the Eurobest awards....

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On November 29, 2017, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (Ministry) issued proposed amendments to the Ethanol in Gasoline regulation (O. Reg. 535/05) and the Greener Diesel -- Renewable Fuel Content Requirements for Petroleum Diesel Fuel (O. Reg. 97/14) under the Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.E.19.  Among the proposed changes is an increase from a 5 percent ethanol blending mandate to 10 percent starting in 2020; a...