On June 7, 2016, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 2576), after Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) dropped the hold placed on the bill. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill on May 24, 2016, with a 403-12 roll call vote. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Reform is now only waiting for President Obama's signature, which is expected soon, based on the White House's endorsement of the bill in May. Bergeson &...
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) recently submitted several draft guidance documents concerning nanomaterials to Partner Expert Groups (PEG) for consultation. Following consultation with PEGs, ECHA will consult its committees and/or Forum, where relevant. The final consultation will be with the European Commission (EC) and the relevant Competent Authorities. To ensure that the guidance updating process is transparent and open to participation by relevant partners, ECHA will...
June 8, 2016
UK Nanosafety Group Publishes Updated Guidance to Support Safe Working with Nanomaterials
In May 2016, the UK Nanosafety Group (UKNSG) published a second edition of its guidance document, Working Safely with Nanomaterials in Research & Development. The second edition of the guidance provides updates to account for changes in legislation, recent studies in the literature, and best practice since 2012. In particular, according to the guidance, specific sections have been revised to account for the full implementation of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and...
On June 2, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) and Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) released harmonized product chemistry templates for use by registrants when submitting pesticide registration packages. These templates were developed by EPA and PMRA under the United States -- Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) workplan. EPA stated that the templates are based on the Organization for...
On May 10, 2016, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) issued guidelines on highly hazardous pesticides (HHP) (Guidelines) as part of the International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management (Code of Conduct). HHPs are defined in the Guidelines as “pesticides that are acknowledged to present particularly high levels of acute or chronic hazards to health or environment according to internationally accepted...
A post from the Environmental Law Institute's "Vibrant Environment" Blog By Lynn L. Bergeson The last thing the push for TSCA reform needs is another delay, and Senator Paul's unexpected interest in H.R. 2576 has caused just that. Under typical circumstances, a Member's focused interest in legislation is refreshing, and as today highlights, entirely too infrequent. In this instance, the circuitous road to TSCA reform is anything but typical—the complexity of the...
On May 3, 3016, Mexico’s Ministry of Economy published a notice beginning a public consultation on two draft nanotechnology standards. Proposed standard PROY-NMX-R-80004-5-SCFI-2015 is identical to ISO/TS 80004-5:2011, “Nanotechnologies — Vocabulary — Part 5: Nano/bio interface.” ISO/TS 80004-5:2011 lists terms and definitions related to the interface between nanomaterials and biology. It is intended to facilitate communications between...
On Wednesday, June 1, 2016, Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Susan L. Biro issued an Initial Decision in the matter of Bayer CropScience LP and Nichino America, Inc. (BCS/NAI), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Docket No. FIFRA-HQ-2016-0001. This decision was issued following BCS/NAI’s request for a hearing to contest EPA’s Notice of Intent to Cancel Pesticide Registrations (NOIC). BCS/NAI challenged EPA’s position that a conditional registration term in the relevant...
June 3, 2016
European Commission Refers Poland To EU Court Of Justice Over Biofuel Restriction Disagreement
On May 26, 2016, Poland was referred to the European Union (EU) Court of Justice for establishing restrictions for certain imported biofuels and raw materials used for the production of biofuel. The EU's Renewable Energy Directive requires sustainable biofuels and their raw materials be treated equally by Member States regardless of origin. Polish law provides preferential treatment for fuel operators sourcing at least 70 percent of their biofuels from Polish manufacturers, and for biofuel...
On May 24, 2016, Iowan Governor Terry Branstad signed Senate File 2309, an Act providing for tax credits and refunds relating to renewable fuels including their component biofuels and including effective date provisions. The bill extends a state biodiesel production tax credit providing 2 cents per gallon (cpg) on the first 25 million gallons of production per biodiesel plant. The bill also extends a credit for petroleum retailers of 4.5 cpg on blends of 5 percent biodiesel or more through the...