Blogs

Please note that the date of this webinar has moved forward one day, from Wednesday, June 12, 2024, to Thursday, June 13, 2024, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EDT). Register now to join Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®) for “Sponsor’s Role in Regulatory Testing — Complying with GLP Standards,” a complimentary webinar covering the roles and responsibilities of Study Sponsors, as defined by Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) regulations and related advisory...

On May 23, 2024, the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) issued a press release applauding its Congressional Commissioners -- Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Todd Young (R-IN) and Representatives Stephanie Bice (R-OK) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) -- for introducing the legislative recommendations from its first report. The press release states that recognizing that food security and agricultural supply chains are key elements of national security, NSCEB developed its first...

On June 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office’s (BETO) Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium (ChemCatBio) will hold a webinar on artificial intelligence (AI) for catalysis. BETO states that “AI has the potential to play a crucial role in accelerated catalyst design, discovery, and optimization of chemical processes for decarbonization.” Using AI tools such as machine learning, deep learning, and large language models, “researchers can uncover...

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published a notice of determination on May 31, 2024, that the list of taxable substances is modified to include polyoxymethylene. 89 Fed. Reg. 47238. As reported in our December 29, 2022, blog item, the IRS announced in December 2022 that it received a petition requesting the addition of polyoxymethylene to the list of taxable substances under Section 4672(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. Celanese Ltd., an exporter of polyoxymethylene, submitted the petition....

The European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) began a public consultation on May 27, 2024, on its preliminary opinion on a new coating for titanium dioxide (nano form). According to the preliminary opinion, SCCS concluded that: Considering all the provided information, SCCS is of the view that there are a number of uncertainties and data gaps that do not allow a conclusion on the safety of titanium dioxide (nano) coated with a combination of six percent by...

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) announced on May 28, 2024, that it filed a request for correction (RFC) under the Information Quality Act (IQA) regarding a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) research memorandum entitled “Verification Analysis for PFAS in Pesticide Products (ACB Project B23-05b)” dated May 18, 2023, and the accompanying press release. As reported in our June 2, 2023, memorandum, EPA completed a verification analysis of a study published in...

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced on May 23, 2024, that it released a Summary Report from a September 2023 Request for Information (RFI) on building supply chains to meet Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge goals. The RFI requested input from industry, academia, national laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders to identify opportunities for developing effective supply chains capable of meeting the SAF Grand...

On May 24, 2024, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) issued California Notice 2024-10 announcing that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and DPR have made recent policy changes regarding state-specific language on pesticide labels intended to reduce delays related to state-specific uses. As part of DPR’s evaluation process when reviewing a new registration application, DPR may determine there are not sufficient data to support registration of a specific use in...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on May 23, 2024, that it has updated the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory. EPA states that this biannual update to the public TSCA Inventory is part of its regular posting of non-confidential TSCA Inventory data. EPA notes that this update coincides with the 2024 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) cycle submission period beginning June 1, 2024. According to EPA, “[m]anufacturers (including importers) should refer to the latest...

On May 23, 2024, the European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) published a document entitled “Scientific Advice on Titanium dioxide (TiO2).” The document includes the following questions from the EC and SCCS’s conclusions: Q:In light of the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) opinion on genotoxicity concerns for E171, does SCCS consider titanium dioxide safe in oral cosmetic products? A:From the provided information, SCCS notes that the titanium...