On April 24, 2013, the South Korea National Assembly Environmental and Labor Committee passed the Act on Registration and Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical Substances, commonly known as Korea REACH or K-REACH. On April 30, 2013, the National Assembly enacted K-REACH, and it is now scheduled to come into force on January 1, 2015. Information on K-REACH is not yet available on the Ministry of Environment’s website. A translation of the Act is available online....
James V. Aidala was quoted in the May 3, 2013, issue of Pesticide and Chemical Policy on the effect on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of a recent decision by the European Commission to restrict use of three neonicotinoids: “‘The pressure on EPA will increase as a result of the European restrictions,’ says James Aidala, senior government consultant with Bergeson & Campbell, and former assistant administrator for EPA’s office of prevention, pesticides, and toxic...
Pesticide and Chemical Policy spoke with James V. Aidala for the article “National Academy Urges Federal Agencies to Adopt ERA Methodology,” in the May 3, 2013, issue and featured the following comment as their “Quote of the Week”: “‘The [NAS report] doesn’t get to the issue of the fact EPA and the [wildlife] services don’t like to play in the same sandbox together,’ — James Aidala, senior consultant, Bergeson & Campbell, and former assistant administrator for...
On May 8, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a long-awaited final rule revising the data requirements for antimicrobial pesticide products. EPA states the revisions “reflect current scientific and regulatory practice, and [] provide the regulated community with clearer and transparent information about the data needed to support pesticide registration decisions for antimicrobial products.” The final rule revises and updates the data requirements for...
Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is pleased to announce that Jane S. Vergnes, Ph.D., DABT® has joined our team as Senior Toxicologist for B&C and The Acta Group (Acta). Dr. Vergnes has demonstrated outstanding leadership and an agile, multi-disciplinary talent for problem-solving in her 25 years directing global product stewardship and toxicology departments for Ashland, Inc., International Specialty Products (ISP), Texaco, and Union Carbide (now Dow). She is also an...
The European Union (EU) voted April 29, 2013, on a proposal to restrict the use of three neonicotinoid substances for agricultural uses. The substances are clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam. The proposal failed to gain sufficient support from the 27 EU Member States Appeal Committee and was passed to the European Commission (EC), which has confirmed that the proposal will be adopted in the coming weeks. Restriction upon the agricultural use of the three neonicotinoid substances...
May 7, 2013
State FIFRA Issues Research and Evaluation Group Convenes Semi-Annual Full Committee Meetings
On April 22-23, 2013, the Association of American Pesticide Control Officials (AAPCO)/State Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Issues Research and Evaluation Group (SFIREG) Pesticide Operations Management (POM) Working Committee (WC) held its semi-annual full committee meeting in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offices in Crystal City, Virginia. Through a cooperative agreement in 1978, EPA and AAPCO created SFIREG, an AAPCO committee with EPA funding, to...
On April 11-12, 2013, the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment hosted an invitation-only conference entitled “Building Blocks for Completing EU Regulation of Nanomaterials.” The conference was intended to identify areas where current European Union (EU) legislation on nanomaterials is insufficient. Participants included representatives from Member States, the European Commission (EC), European Parliament (EP), industry, and a number of non-governmental...
In a widely anticipated and potentially influential report released on April 30, 2013, a committee of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) made detailed recommendations concerning potential revisions to the process by which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service (the Services) assess risk during consultation under Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for specific...
There has been a lot of talk lately about reforming Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Sadly, that is all it is: talk. It appears that the prospects for TSCA reform legislation passing any time soon continue to be dim, even with the democrats retaining control of the Senate....