Blogs

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on October 19, 2022, entitled “Persistent Chemicals: EPA Should Use New Data to Analyze the Demographics of Communities with PFAS in Their Drinking Water.” The Congressional requesters asked GAO to examine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in drinking water and related state actions. GAO’s report examines what recent data from selected states show about the occurrence of PFAS in drinking water; the...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On October 6, 2022, the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) announced the availability of a report entitled Update on Potential of Biofuels in Shipping, updating a previous study developed by EMSA on biofuels and examining the full range of biofuels from the perspective of current production capacity, storage and distribution infrastructure, and power-generation technologies. According to EMSA, the report also features techno-economic analyses...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development will hold a webinar on November 3, 2022, on the safer and sustainable innovation approach (SSIA) for more sustainable nanomaterials and nano-enabled products. According to OECD, SSIA is an approach aiming to boost safer and sustainable innovations by integrating safety and sustainability at an early stage of the design phase of innovative materials, products, applications, and processes. SSIA combines the...

On October 13, 2022, Earthjustice, on behalf of a coalition of environmental organizations and community advocates, petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revoke the approval of approximately 600 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that were granted through low volume exemptions (LVE) or low release and low exposure exemptions (LoREX) to the premanufacture notice (PMN) requirements of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). In its October 13,...

On October 7, 2022, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) made key announcements intended to advance the Biden Administration’s efforts “to leverage the promise of science and technology to benefit all Americans.” They also complement the Administration’s ongoing Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act implementation efforts “that will ensure the United...

On October 11, 2022, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) released its final investigative report into “a massive fire and explosions” at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refinery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that occurred in June 2019. According to CSB, the incident occurred when a corroded pipe elbow ruptured, releasing process fluid into the refinery’s hydrofluoric acid (HF) alkylation unit. CSB states that over 5,000 pounds of “highly toxic” HF were released, “a...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Biotechnology Risk Assessment Research Grants (BRAG) program supports the generation of new information that will assist federal regulatory agencies in making science-based decisions about the environmental effects of introducing genetically engineered organisms. In an October 27, 2022, technical assistance webinar, staff will provide an overview of the program, which is jointly administered by...

According to a September 29, 2022, press release, the Japan Business Council in Europe (JBCE) has proposed a harmonization of the classification of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) “based on the latest knowledge on the effects of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in organisms.” JBCE notes that this classification is consistent with the classification of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). JBCE states that “the morphologies, physicochemical properties, and...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) New Chemicals Program will host a webinar on October 18, 2022, on EPA’s process for assessing the potential risks of new chemicals under Section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the types of data EPA considers in this assessment. The webinar will cover examples of quantitative and qualitative data unlikely to be accepted for engineering assessment, considerations EPA makes when evaluating data, and clarifications of common...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The European Parliament (EP) voted on September 14, 2022, to increase the share of renewables in the European Union’s (EU) final energy consumption to 45 percent by 2030, under the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), a target also backed by the European Commission (EC) under its “RepowerEU” package. According to the EP’s September 14, 2022, press release, the legislation also defines subtargets for sectors...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) New Chemicals Program will host a webinar on October 18, 2022, on EPA’s process for assessing the potential risks of new chemicals under Section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the types of data EPA considers in this assessment. The webinar will cover examples of quantitative and qualitative data unlikely to be accepted for engineering assessment, considerations...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on October 11, 2022, that the Office of Research and Development’s (ORD) Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC) will review the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) New Chemicals Collaborative Research Program. 87 Fed. Reg. 61313. The meeting will be held October 24-25, 2022, via videoconference. Attendees must register by October 23, 2022. Comments must be received by October 23, 2022, to be considered by...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.’s (B&C®) October 11, 2022, webinar “Environmental, Social, and Governance Issues: A Business Imperative” is now available for on-demand viewing at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/4666338769766648838. During this one-hour webinar, experts from FTI Consulting, Christine DiBartolo, Senior Managing Director, Head of Americas Corporate Reputation, and Ken Ditzel, Senior Managing Director, explore the hows and whys of...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On September 7, 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced that it reviewed a new tomato from Norfolk Plant Sciences. The tomato was modified to alter its color and enhance its nutritional quality. APHIS found the plant is unlikely to pose an increased plant pest risk compared to other cultivated tomatoes and is not subject to regulation under...

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) posted a blog item entitled “NIOSH News for National Nanotechnology Day!” on October 6, 2022. In honor of National Nanotechnology Day, October 9, the item summarizes NIOSH’s work in the area of engineered nanomaterials, including the NIOSH Nanomaterial Exposure Assessment Technique (NEAT 2.0), which can be used to identify the potential for exposure to engineered nanomaterials in the workplace. According to NIOSH, the...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS) will hold its annual Stakeholder Meeting on December 8, 2022. BRS will offer in-person, at the USDA Center at Riverside, 4700 River Road, Riverdale, Maryland 20737, and virtual options for attendance. Attendees will hear updates about BRS’s implementation of the revised biotechnology regulations,...

NANORIGO, RiskGONE, and Gov4Nano, in collaboration with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN), will hold a conference in January 2023 on “Future-proof Approaches for Risk Governance.” According to NANORIGO’s September 14, 2022, press announcement, the conference is intended to help shape international approaches to addressing future challenges in risk governance of nano- and advanced materials....

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on October 3, 2022, two new online tools available to the public that provide additional information on environmental enforcement and compliance in their communities. EPA states that through improved transparency, advanced technologies, and community participation, these tools empower the public to help EPA ensure compliance nationwide and protect public health and the environment. EJ Metrics Integrated with ECHO Members of the...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   As reported in our September 13, 2022, blog item, on September 12, 2022, President Joseph Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) creating a National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative “that will ensure we can make in the United States all that we invent in the United States.” The White House hosted a Summit on Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing on September 14, 2022. According to the White House fact...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule on September 2, 2022, establishing an optional alternative renewable identification number (RIN) retirement schedule for small refineries under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program for the 2020 compliance year. 87 Fed. Reg. 54158. Small refineries that elect to use the alternative RIN retirement schedule will have to comply fully with their 2020 RFS obligations, including any...