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 will...
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 organizations.
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.
May 1, 2013
Lynn L. Bergeson, “Government Accountability Office Attacks EPA Program,” Chemical Processing, May 2013.
On April 29, 2013, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) titled "Toxic Substances: EPA has Increased Efforts to Assess and Control Chemicals but Could Strengthen Its Approach." The report is available at www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-249. The GAO has long faulted the EPA's chemicals management program. In 2005, GAO reported that the EPA failed to use its Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) authority to obtain...
James V. Aidala was quoted in the April 30, 2013 Pesticide and Chemical Policy Daily News Alert article regarding the European Commission’s decision to more tightly 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. But whether there will be results remains to be seen. Looking ahead, Aidala and others say they do not see EPA...
On April 29, 2013, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report entitled Toxic Substances: EPA Has Increased Efforts to Assess and Control Chemicals but Could Strengthen Its Approach, which provides the results of a performance audit conducted by GAO from December 2011 to March 2013. GAO reviewed the extent to which: (1) the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made progress implementing its new approach for managing toxic chemicals with the goal of ensuring...
April 30, 2013
Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Applies Life-Cycle Assessment to Nanoscale Technology,” Nanotechnology Now, April 30, 2013.
On April 30, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Design for the Environment (DfE) announced the availability of the final report entitled Application of Life-Cycle Assessment to Nanoscale Technology: Lithium-ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles.