This article presents the results of a January 2013 workshop convened at the California NanoSystems Institute of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and hosted by the University of California Center for the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology, as well as the UCLA Center for Nanobiology and Predictive Toxicology. Using carbon nanotubes as a case study, national and international leaders from government, industry, and academia discussed the utility of alternative test...
August 7, 2013
Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Promulgates SNURs for Two Carbon Nanotube Substances,” Nanotechnology Now, August 7, 2013.
On August 7, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated significant new use rules (SNUR) through a direct final rule for 53 chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN), including two PMN substances whose reported chemical names include the term “carbon nanotube” (CNT)....
On August 6, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed its belated final rule establishing the 2013 renewable volume obligations (RVO) for the four fuel categories that are part of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program under the Clean Air Act (CAA): cellulosic biofuel; biomass-based diesel; advanced biofuel; and total renewable fuel. These standards apply to all gasoline and diesel produced or imported in 2013. The final rule will become effective once it...
On July 31, 2013, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on “Strengthening Public Health Protections by Addressing Toxic Chemical Threats.” To date, two bills have been introduced in the Senate that would reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) — the Safe Chemicals Act of 2013 (S. 696) (SCA) and the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (S. 1009) (CSIA). The late Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) reintroduced the SCA on April...
While regulators are generally supportive of new chemistries that can replace older, petroleum-based ones, biobased chemicals are subject to the same Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that governs every other chemical substance in the United States. Surprisingly, biobased chemicals that are considered to be “new chemicals” may actually receive more scrutiny under this law than established chemicals do. The following article provides practical information about the TSCA provisions that are...
Renewable chemicals are emerging at a fast pace, paving the way for new, innovative, and sustainable biobased products. The renewable chemicals’ market is estimated to reach $83.4 billion by 2018 in applications ranging from transportation and agriculture to textiles and cosmetics. In addition to all the elements great companies need to succeed — a great product, a great brand, inspiring leadership, and vision — biobased product companies need to understand how the U.S....
August 1, 2013
Lynn L. Bergeson, “The Chemical Safety Improvement Act,” Pollution Engineering, August 1, 2013.
Senators David Vitter (R-LA) and the late Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced S. 1009, the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA), in May 2013. The CSIA provides a new approach to Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform that, to date, has met with broad stakeholder approval. Highlights of the draft bill are below....
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) published a notice in the July 30, 2013, Federal Register announcing that, following receipt of a letter from the United States Trade Representative (USTR), it instituted investigation No. 332-541, “Trade Barriers that U.S. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Perceive as Affecting Exports to the European Union.”...
July 16, 2013
Lynn L. Bergeson to speak at the General Accounting Office (GAO) Comptroller General Forum on Nanotechnology Manufacturing
Lynn L. Bergeson has been invited to give a presentation on “Nanomanufacturing and the Environment” at a Congressionally-requested forum conducted by GAO with the assistance of the National Academies. The goal of the forum, to be held July 23 – 24, 2013, in Washington, D.C., is to help Congress and the United States keep pace with the potentially transformative, fast moving wave of future developments in nanotechnology....
On July 11, 2013, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy held a hearing on “Regulation of New Chemicals, Protection of Confidential Business Information, and Innovation.” The Subcommittee held a June 13, 2013, oversight hearing on Title I of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The July 11, 2013, hearing was intended to provide the Subcommittee an opportunity to examine the regulatory implementation and “real world” implications of...