Blogs

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on July 28, 2025, the release of a memorandum with additional context on occupational exposure data for di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). According to EPA, the memorandum provides clarifying information on the draft DEHP risk assessment by providing a calculation of the number of workers and occupational non-users (ONU) exposed to DEHP for each Occupational Exposure Scenario (OES) identified in the draft risk evaluation. EPA states that...

On July 1, 2025, the European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) issued a final opinion on hydroxyapatite (nano) in oral products. The EC asked SCCS if it considers hydroxyapatite (nano) safe when used in toothpaste up to a maximum concentration of 29.5 percent and in mouthwash up to a maximum concentration of ten percent according to the specifications as reported in the submission, taking into account reasonably foreseeable exposure conditions. According to the...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on July 23, 2025, that it seeks nominations of scientific and technical experts to be considered as ad hoc reviewers in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Scientific Advisory Panel’s (SAP) review of EPA’s white paper on genetically engineered (GE) female mosquitoes for mosquito control. 90 Fed. Reg. 34864. EPA states that it will solicit review and input from the FIFRA SAP on methodologies for determining...

On July 18, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rolled out the “reorganization plan” for its Office of Research and Development (ORD). The stated goal of the plan is to reduce budget expenditures, improve “science,” and have EPA’s research activities better support the work of the media offices, including the Office of Water (OW), Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), and Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). The EPA press release refers to the...

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has published a July 2025 report entitled Update on Critical Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Uses. House Report 118-121, which accompanied the 2024 DOD appropriations bill (H.R. 4365), requested the Secretary of Defense “to submit a report to the congressional defense committees to coordinate with relevant agencies, industries, and academia to research alternatives to defense critical uses of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).” The report...

On July 21, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released for comment a new proposed streamlined approach to track the adoption of bilingual labeling of pesticide products and provided updated guidance on bilingual labeling requirements. Previously, on December 27, 2024, EPA released for comment a proposed plan to track the adoption of bilingual labeling of pesticide products using the annual maintenance fee filing form.  The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2022...

On July 17, 2025, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced legislation that would establish a private right of action for injuries caused by pesticides (S.2324). The introduction of S.2324, the Pesticide Injury Accountability Act of 2025, if enacted, is intended to allow cases against pesticide manufacturers for alleged harm caused by their pesticide products. In his press release, Booker states: “Rather than providing a liability shield so that foreign corporations are allowed to poison the...

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) announced on July 23, 2025, that it will extend the January 1, 2026, deadline for reporting products containing intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to July 1, 2026. MPCA states that it is using its existing statutory authority to move the reporting due date. MPCA notes that with the extension to July 1, 2026, manufacturers will have had three full years since the enactment of Amara’s Law to prepare to report on PFAS in...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on July 21, 2025, that it is adding 18 chemicals to the Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL), “supporting Administrator Zeldin’s commitment to transparency, innovation and safer chemistry.” The SCIL is a list of chemicals that EPA’s Safer Choice program has evaluated and determined meet Safer Choice criteria. EPA notes that the Safer Choice program “certifies cleaning and other products with ingredients that have met the...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on July 14, 2025, that it is extending the public comment period on its proposed method for ranking chemicals in the food supply by 30 days, to August 18, 2025. As reported in our July 8, 2025, blog item, FDA proposes to use Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) to determine a score for each chemical based on evaluating the information about a chemical against a pre-determined set of criteria. FDA notes that this method is similar in...