There are a variety of accounts on the progress and success of the first days of the Trump Administration. Some put special significance on a new administration’s first 100 days, but is this the first 100 days or four years + 100 days? In particular, appearing April 21, 2025, in The Washington Post, there is a report tracing what has happened to the “Five Things” mandate coming from Elon Musk and the DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) effort. This was a “mandate” to report...
April 16, 2025
Petitions Filed to Add Chemicals to List of Chemical Substances Subject to Superfund Excise Tax
On April 2 and April 3, 2025, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that petitions have been filed to add the following chemicals to the list of taxable substances: Polyisobutylene (90 Fed. Reg. 14521): Petition filed by TPC Group, Inc., an exporter of polyisobutylene; Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (90 Fed. Reg. 14687): Petition filed by Trinseo LLC, an importer and exporter of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene; Acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (90 Fed. Reg. 14684): Petition filed by...
April 15, 2025
EUON Publishes Nanopinion on Enhancing the Regulatory Application of NAMs to Assess Nanomaterial Risks in the Food and Feed Sector
On April 8, 2025, the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) published a Nanopinion entitled “A Qualification System to Accelerate Development and Regulatory Implementation of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs)” by Andrea Haase, Ph.D., German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Shirin M. Usmani, Ph.D., BfR, Irene Cattaneo, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Maria Chiara Astuto, EFSA, and Francesco Cubadda, Ph.D., National Institute of Health (ISS). The authors...
April 15, 2025
EPA Postpones Effective Date of Certain Provisions of TCE Risk Management Rule to June 20, 2025
On April 2, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is postponing the effectiveness of certain provisions of its December 17, 2024, final risk management rule for trichloroethylene (TCE) until June 20, 2025. 90 Fed. Reg. 14415. After EPA issued the final rule in December 2024, it received multiple petitions for an administrative stay of the effective date. EPA denied the requests, and the companies submitted renewed petitions to stay the effective date of the rule,...
On April 11, 2025, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a request for information to solicit ideas for deregulation. 90 Fed. Reg. 15481. OMB seeks proposals to rescind or replace regulations “that stifle American businesses and American ingenuity,” including regulations “that are unnecessary, unlawful, unduly burdensome, or unsound.” According to the notice, “comments should address the background of the rule and the reasons for the proposed rescission, with particular...
As reported in our April 1, 2025, blog item, the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (MBEP) was scheduled to consider the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s (MDEP) December 2024 proposed rule regarding products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during its April 7, 2025, meeting. As reported in our December 31, 2024, memorandum, on December 20, 2024, MDEP published a proposed rule that would establish criteria for currently unavoidable uses (CUU) of...
Congress has approximately one month to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to undo qualifying Biden Administration-issued regulations. According to an updated analysis by Bloomberg Government, the estimated period to expedite repeal of Biden Administration rules ends May 8, 2025. This gives Congress approximately four weeks to act on the dozens of pending CRA bills. President Trump’s focus on overturning Biden Administration regulations through the CRA has taken a back seat of late to...
April 9, 2025
EC Scientific Committee Begins Public Consultation on Preliminary Opinion on Hydroxyapatite (Nano)
On April 3, 2024, the European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) began a public consultation on its preliminary opinion on the safety of hydroxyapatite (nano) in oral products. The EC asked SCCS if it considers hydroxyapatite (nano) safe when used in toothpaste up to a maximum concentration of 29.5 percent and in mouthwash up to a maximum concentration of ten percent according to the specifications as reported in the submission, taking into account reasonably...
On April 3, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced changes on how the data matrix form (EPA Form 8570-35) is submitted to EPA, stating this change is an improvement to simplify the process for how companies submit data to EPA as part of a pesticide registration package. EPA states these improvements also will make EPA’s processing of this information more efficient. Companies are required to submit a data matrix form when their pesticide registration packages contain...
April 7, 2025
NSF Announces PFAS-Free Certification for Nonfood Compounds and Food Equipment Materials
On March 24, 2025, NSF announced the release of NSF Certification Guideline 537: PFAS-Free Products for Nonfood Compounds and Food Equipment Materials (NSF 537). The press release states that to be certified, nonfood compound products “must first be registered under NSF’s Nonfood Compounds Guidelines or certified by NSF to ISO 21469, Safety of Machinery, Lubricants with Incidental Product Contact-Hygiene Requirements.” According to the press release, food equipment materials “must be...