8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. EDTJune 29, 2023 REGISTER NOW The full program, including session details and confirmed speakers for the 7th annual Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) conference, “TSCA Reform — Seven Years Later,” is detailed below. This timely and essential day-long virtual conference will provide updates on risk evaluation, risk management, new chemical review, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and more. Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), the...
According to NNI, the roundtable is a critical part of the Nano4EARTH National Nanotechnology Challenge, which aims to leverage recent investments in understanding and controlling matter at the nanoscale to develop technologies and industries that address climate change. Nano4EARTH focuses on facilitating opportunities for members of the nanotechnology community to convene, collaborate, and share resources. Nano4EARTH also strives to provide mechanisms that support technology development and...
On May 18, 2023, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced the Supercomputing for Safer Chemicals (SUPERSAFE) Act (S. 1685, H.R. 3457). According to Padilla’s May 18, 2023, press release, the legislation would establish a SUPERSAFE Consortium led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “to identify chemicals that are safe to use in commerce through science-backed decision making.” The press release states that the bill would direct the use...
On June 8, 2023, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) issued Notice 2023-07: Pesticide Registration Program Annual Processing Timelines. Under Notice 2023-07, DPR sets forth its annual report summarizing the past five years of registration and post-registration activities. This includes the number of pesticide product registration and amendment submissions received and processed, and average number of days to complete different types of registration submissions are also...
The Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight will hold a hearing on June 15, 2023, on “Impacts of Plastic Production and Disposal on Environmental Justice Communities.” Originally scheduled for April 27, 2023, witnesses will include: On May 2, 2023, EPA announced the release of a Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution. EPA identified three key objectives for the...
June 9, 2023
OECD Tour de Table Includes Information on International Developments Regarding Nanomaterials
POSTED IN INTERNATIONAL, LEGAL/REGULATORY ISSUES, OECD The Organization for Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published the latest edition of the Developments in Delegations on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials and Advanced Materials — Tour de Table. The Tour de Table compiles information provided by delegations on the occasion of the 22nd meeting of the OECD Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) in June 2022. Below are highlights on...
Governor Janet Mills (D) has signed LD 217, “An Act to Support Manufacturers Whose Products Contain Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances” (Act). Passed by the House on June 1, 2023, and the Senate on June 6, 2023, the bill postpones the January 1, 2023, reporting requirement for products and product components containing intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). As reported in our February 17, 2023, memorandum, the Maine Department of Environmental...
On June 6, 2023, the Maine Senate passed LD 217, “An Act to Support Manufacturers Whose Products Contain Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances” (Act). Passed by the House on June 1, 2023, the bill would postpone the January 1, 2023, reporting requirement for products and product components containing intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). As reported in our February 17, 2023, memorandum, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) issued a...
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are attracting global legal, regulatory, commercial, and litigation attention as no other “emerging contaminant” has. Companies producing, processing, distributing, and/or using these substances must be aware of global legal and scientific developments and take steps now to minimize legal, regulatory, and commercial risk. Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and its global consulting affiliate The Acta Group (Acta®) have prepared...
The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) has posted two Nanopinions:...
June 6, 2023
GAO’s Priority Open Recommendations for EPA Include Recommendations Regarding the IRIS Program
On May 16, 2023, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released publicly a report on its priority open recommendations for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). GAO’s priority recommendations include three in the area of “assessing and controlling toxic chemicals.” According to GAO, EPA’s ability to protect effectively public health and the environment depends on credible and timely assessments of the risks posed by toxic chemicals, including per- and...
By Lisa R. Burchi, James V. Aidala, and Heather F. Collins, M.S. On May 31, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a final rule exempting a class of plant-incorporated protectants (PIP) created using genetic engineering, from registration requirements under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and from the food or feed residue tolerance requirements under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). 88 Fed. Reg. 34756. PIPs are pesticidal...
On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new effort closing out notification actions for minor pesticide label or product formulation changes in an effort to reduce the backlog, which, EPA states, will allow it to focus its limited resources on addressing higher priority actions. EPA announced it has closed out approximately 2,000 antimicrobial actions submitted to EPA prior to October 1, 2022. EPA states that the notification actions do not impact...
June 5, 2023
ChemCatBio Will Hold a Webinar on Perspectives on Engineered Catalyst Design and Forming on June 14,
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced on May 30, 2023, that the Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium (ChemCatBio) will hold a webinar on June 14, 2023, on “Perspectives on Engineered Catalyst Design and Forming.” ChemCatBio is a consortium of eight DOE national laboratories overseen by BETO. According to BETO, the performance evaluation, and ultimate commercial adoption, of...
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced on May 24, 2023, the launch of the Clean Fuels & Products ShotTM, a new initiative that aims to reduce significantly greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from carbon-based fuels and products. DOE notes that this is its seventh DOE Energy Earthshot, which focuses on reducing carbon emissions from the fuel and chemical industry through alternative, more sustainable sources of carbon...
June 1, 2023
SCCS Updates Guidance for the Testing of Cosmetic Ingredients and Their Safety Evaluation
The European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) published on May 16, 2023, the 12th revision of The SCCS Notes of Guidance for the Testing of Cosmetic Ingredients and Their Safety Evaluation. The guidance contains information on the different aspects of testing and safety evaluation of cosmetic substances in Europe. The emphasis of the guidance is on cosmetic ingredients, but it notes that “some guidance is also indirectly given for the safety assessment of...
June 1, 2023
B&C Publishes FIFRA Tutor® Courses Covering Transfer of FIFRA Registrations, and Data Compensation and Sharing
Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is pleased to announce that additional FIFRA Tutor® regulatory training courses are now available at www.FIFRAtutor.com. The one-hour F105 — Due Diligence and Transferring FIFRA Registrations and/or Data module and two-hour F208 — Data Citation, Data Compensation, and Data Sharing module join six existing FIFRA Tutor courses providing expert, essential Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)...
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) has launched a new, comprehensive web page dedicated to one of its priority subprograms, Renewable Carbon Resources (RCR), which helps develop RCR technologies and creates strategies for bioenergy and bioproducts production. In its May 19, 2023, announcement, BETO states that RCR supports applied research and pilot-scale projects for the production,...
The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) issued a May 17, 2023, news item stating that it believes that the European Commission’s (EC) revised Recommendation on the definition of nanomaterial, published in June 2022, “is too restrictive and could lead to a regression in the protection of public health and the environment.” ANSES “is therefore urging the French authorities to take a more inclusive definition into account and work...
On May 31, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a final rule exempting a class of plant-incorporated protectants (PIP) created using genetic engineering, from registration requirements under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and from the food or feed residue tolerance requirements under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). 88 Fed. Reg. 34756. PIPs are pesticidal substances produced by plants and the genetic material...