Blogs

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 4, 2022, the availability of the latest Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory. EPA states that the biannual update to the public TSCA Inventory is part of its regular posting of non-confidential TSCA Inventory data. EPA plans the next regular update of the Inventory for summer 2022. According to EPA, the Inventory contains 86,631 chemicals, of which 42,039 are active in U.S commerce. Other updates include new chemical...

By Lynn L. Bergeson  On February 24, 2022, EPA announced the selection of 11 organizations to receive a total of approximately $2 million in funding to divert food waste from landfills by expanding anaerobic digester capacity nationwide. Anaerobic digestion (AD) produces biogas that can be captured and used for energy production and digestate (a fertilizer product) by using microorganisms to break down organic materials, such as food scraps and manure, in the absence of oxygen. By...

By Lynn L. Bergeson  On January 27, 2022, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, and 14 of her colleagues submitted a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Michael Regan, requesting that EPA reconsider its proposed actions under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program through the RFS Annual Rules and the Proposed RFS Small Refinery Exemption Decision. Senator Capito and her...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 28, 2022, the implementation of a new process by which the Science Advisory Board (SAB) will assess the science that informs decisions regarding EPA proposed rules. EPA states that the new process “will restore opportunities for peer review and strengthen the independence of” SAB. According to EPA, the new Science Supporting EPA Decisions process strengthens peer review at EPA by: The process is effective...

On February 23, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a webinar on requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the premanufacture notice (PMN) process for biofuels. As reported in our January 24, 2022, blog item, in January 2022, EPA announced an effort to streamline the review of new biobased or waste-derived chemicals that could displace current, higher greenhouse gas (GHG)-emitting transportation fuels. According to EPA, it has received...

The U.S. Commercial Service, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, has begun registration for a webinar series designed to inform exporters and manufacturers about potential per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) risks affecting their business: Part I: PFAS Basics: What you need to knowWednesday, March 9, 2022, 1:00 p.m. (EST)The first session will cover the PFAS basics, including where they are found, what health, environmental, and...

On February 24, 2022, the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) published a Nanopinion entitled “Are nanoplastics hazardous? The way forward to overcome the uncertainties of risk assessment” by Dr. Anita Jemec Kokalj and Dr. Dana Kühnel about defining the criteria to evaluate which properties of nanoplastics should be reported in future studies to decrease uncertainties in their risk assessment. The authors state that nanoplastics “are complex environmental pollutants...

On February 25, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is revoking the 1980 guidelines and associated procedures for correcting the specific chemical identities of incorrectly described chemical substances submitted to EPA in 1978 using the original reporting form for inclusion on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory. 87 Fed. Reg. 10781. EPA states that it is providing a final opportunity to use the 1980 guidelines and form to request corrections of...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will hold a virtual public meeting April 20-21, 2022, to seek individual input on the proposed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) New Chemicals Collaborative Research Program. 87 Fed. Reg. 10784. In addition, EPA announced the availability of and is soliciting public comment on the draft document entitled “Modernizing the Process and Bringing Innovative Science to Evaluate New Chemicals Under TSCA.” EPA states that the Office of Chemical Safety...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will hold a virtual public meeting April 20-21, 2022, to seek individual input on the proposed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) New Chemicals Collaborative Research Program. 87 Fed. Reg. 10784. In addition, EPA announced the availability of and is soliciting public comment on the draft document entitled “Modernizing the Process and Bringing Innovative Science to Evaluate New Chemicals Under TSCA.” EPA...

As reported in our July 9, 2021, blog item, NanoHarmony aims to support the development of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) test guidelines (TG) and guidance documents (GD) for eight endpoints where nanomaterial-adapted test methods have been identified as a regulatory priority. To identify difficulties arising during the development process for TGs and GDs, NanoHarmony asked stakeholders to share their experiences in a short survey. According to NanoHarmony’s...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 22, 2022, the release of the updated Mercury Electronic Reporting (MER) application and compliance guide for calendar year 2021 data reporting. According to EPA, the updates make it easier to report information about the supply, use, and trade of mercury. The mercury rule applies to any person who manufactures (including imports) mercury or mercury-added products (including pre-assembled products that contain mercury-added...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) New Chemicals Program will hold a webinar on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. (EST) to learn about requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the premanufacture notice (PMN) process for biofuels. As reported in our January 24, 2022, blog item, in January 2022, EPA announced an effort to streamline the review of new biobased...

On February 15, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a final rule regarding a further compliance date extension for phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)). EPA proposed in October 2021 to extend the compliance date applicable to the processing and distribution in commerce of certain PIP (3:1)-containing articles and the PIP (3:1) used to make those articles until October 31, 2024, along with the associated recordkeeping...

The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) will hold a webinar on “What We Know about NanoEHS: Building International Bridges” on March 1, 2022. NNI states that it has supported the emergence of an international community of collaborative researchers on the environmental, health, and safety aspects of nanomaterials (nanoEHS). According to NNI, “[b]y advancing tools, methods, and standards for robust health and safety evaluation, these cooperative efforts have furthered the safe and...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 14, 2022, that it will reopen the comment period for its draft revision to the risk determination for the cyclic aliphatic bromide cluster (HBCD) risk evaluation issued under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). As reported in our December 29, 2021, memorandum, EPA is reconsidering two key aspects of the risk determinations for HBCD. First, EPA proposes that the appropriate approach to these determinations under TSCA and...

The European Commission (EC) notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) on February 11, 2022, of a draft amendment to the Cosmetics Regulation regarding the use of certain nanomaterials in cosmetics products. The EC states that the amendment is required to enact the prohibition to use in cosmetic products certain nanomaterials for which the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) identified a basis of concern. The draft amendment would revise Annex II to the Cosmetics Regulation (list...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 4, 2022, the release of a “new and improved” Framework for the Assessment of Environmental Performance Standards and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing under its Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) program, as well as a webpage highlighting ecolabel criteria that address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). EPA states that “[t]hese actions are a key...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 4, 2022, the release of a “new and improved” Framework for the Assessment of Environmental Performance Standards and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing under its Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) program, as well as a webpage highlighting ecolabel criteria that address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). EPA states that “[t]hese actions are a key step in implementing...

On January 18, 2022, the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) published a Nanopinion entitled “What does ‘Graphene’ really look like and why is it not ‘carbon nanotubes’” by Dr. Alberto Bianco, Dr. Maurizio Prato, and Dr. Kostas Kostarelos, of the Graphene Flagship, an EU research initiative, about graphene and why it is not the same as carbon nanotubes. The article states that in particular, the authors wish to emphasize “that ‘graphene’ as a...