All Knowledge & Insights By Date

In response to the many requests we’ve received, B&C Senior Regulatory Consultants Michael S. Wenk, M.S. and Karin F. Baron, MSPH presented a follow-up to our November 2016 webinar Current Opportunities and Challenges with Chemical Substance Regulation in Mexico and Central and South America, and examined the chemical substance regulations of several additional countries in the region, whose regulatory environments are generally not well-known or...

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a Federal Register notice on February 10, 2017, inviting comment on a proposed information collection plan, “Survey of Engineered Nanomaterial Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Practices.” The goal of the project is to assess the relevance and impact of NIOSH’s contribution to guidelines and risk mitigation practices for safe handling of engineered nanomaterials in the workplace. The intended use of...

On February 10, 2017, Managing Partner of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), Lynn L. Bergeson, was quoted in the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report article “Vehicle, Furniture Makers Urged to Increase Role in Toxics Law.” Lynn Bergeson, managing partner of the Washington, D.C., office of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., said some manufacturers, such as companies that purchase nanoscale chemicals to make sports equipment, aren’t well positioned to actively...

On February 9, 2017, Inside EPA quoted the Bergeson & Campbell P.C. (B&C®) memorandum, “TSCA: EPA Releases Proposed Chemical Risk Evaluation Process under New TSCA,” regarding how a weight of evidence (WoE) approach would impact U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) risk evaluations. And a Jan. 19 Bergeson & Campbell memorandum on the proposal says that while the preamble contains language leading toward codifying an effective WoE approach, “A clear...

EPA Updates RCRA Public Participation Manual: For the first time in 20 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has revised its Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Public Participation Manual. The revised document, issued by EPA in January 2017, replaces the 1996 version. EPA has updated the document to reflect current regulations, policies, and practices. It also presents new information about technical assistance, environmental justice, social media, and other...

Representative Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) on February 1, 2017, introduced a resolution (H.J. Res. 59) under the CRA to repeal the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule revising its Risk Management Plan (RMP) program. EPA promulgated the final RMP rule on January 13, 2017, in response to Executive Order 13650, which required EPA and other federal agencies to improve chemical facility safety and security. 82 Fed. Reg. 4594. The CRA allows Congress to pass disapproval...

Each year, millions of consumers, including large numbers of children, are exposed to unknown quantities of anti-mold pesticides when they open a shoebox. Although the active ingredient in these mostly unregistered anti-mold pesticides is undisclosed and the products are marketed as all natural, many stickers contain allyl isothiocyanate (AITC). These stickers have not been registered for this use, nor has this use, or the resulting exposure to consumers, been reviewed for safety by the U.S....

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published a report entitled Alternative Testing Strategies in Risk Assessment of Manufactured Nanomaterials: Current State of Knowledge and Research Needs to Advance Their Use....

On January 19, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an interpretation of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 14 concerning substantiation of confidential business information (CBI) claims for information submitted to EPA.  82 Fed. Reg. 6522.  Under the interpretation, EPA expresses its view that new TSCA requires substantiation of all non-exempt CBI claims at the time the information claimed as confidential is submitted to EPA.  In the notice, EPA...

On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, Pub. L. No. 114-182, and in so doing significantly revised the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for the first time since its enactment in 1976. This article reviews and analyzes TSCA as amended and focuses narrowly on how new TSCA specifically impacts nanoscale materials. Although the new TSCA dramatically changes how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) evaluates...