Blogs

With the draft initial Priority Product Work Plan now released, it is important for manufacturers, importers, and retailers of consumer products in the categories listed by DTSC in the Work Plan to understand and address any issues. The upcoming Safer Consumer Products Summit, of which BRAG is a proud sponsor, will bring together DTSC staff, brand owners, chemical companies, and industry associations to discuss these developments in sessions including: * "Strategies and Tactics in Response...

On September 12, 2014, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released its much anticipated draft Initial Priority Product Work Plan under SCPR. The Regulations require that DTSC, by October 2014, develop an Initial Priority Product Work Plan that describes product categories it will use to evaluate and identify product-chemical combinations to be added to the Priority Products. The Work Plan is available online and more detailed memoranda from BRAG affiliate Bergeson &...

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and EPA State and Local Energy Efficiency Action Network (SEE Action) website has been redesigned. The website provides information on successful efforts to advance energy efficiency across the U.S. It includes initiatives in support of energy efficiency policies and program options at the state and local levels. You can access the SEE Action website here.

The Green Chemistry Clearinghouse Conference held on September 16, 2014, in San Francisco included several interesting panels discussing topics including California Safer Consumer Products Regulations' (SCPR) recently released Work Plan, the future of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform, and the increasing push by retailers to require information from the supply chain. Jim Jones, EPA's Assistant Administrator at the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), spoke...

Inside EPA reports that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will take at least 12 more months before a proposed ruling for the 2015 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) can be released. This pushes "issuance of a final version toward the end of the 2015 compliance year," while also violating the statutory mandate that EPA has to "issue the annual RFS targets before the compliance year begins." EPA did not meet that schedule in 2014 either, as the RFS is yet to be released...

Spray drift and volatilization issues increasingly are significant issues in pesticide product risk assessments. Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued drafts of key guidance documents, which focused on issues that were key in the chlorpyrifos petition response, and more recently, at least one registration review decision that reflects current and still evolving EPA policy on spray drift and volatilization issues. How potential for spray drift and for...

On September 16, 2014, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published a document entitled Report of the Questionnaire on Regulatory Regimes for Manufactured Nanomaterials 2010-2011. The Report summarizes responses to the Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) Questionnaire on Regulated Nanomaterials: 2010-2011, which was issued July 12, 2012. The Questionnaire contained four sections related to the oversight of nanomaterials in various OECD...

Spray drift and volatilization issues increasingly are significant issues in pesticide product risk assessments. Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued drafts of key guidance documents, which focused on issues that were key in the chlorpyrifos petition response, and more recently, at least one registration review decision that reflects current and still evolving EPA policy on spray drift and volatilization issues. How potential for spray drift and for...

In August 2014, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency published the Guideline for the Danish Inventory of Nanoproducts, which is intended to explain how manufacturers and importers of products for consumers should use the new Inventory. The Guideline describes who has a duty to report; which products must be reported; and how to collect information and perform the actual reporting to the Inventory. The Guideline uses questions to determine whether a product must be reported,...

One of the highlights of the year for the biobased and green chemistry community is the annual Green Chemistry and Engineering (GC&E) Conference hosted by the American Chemical Society's (ACS) Green Chemistry Institute (GCI). It is the longest running green chemistry conference in the U.S. and always attracts a prestigious line-up of scientists, advocates, business leaders, academics, and students who come together, compare findings, and discuss the science of the future. A rich treasure...