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Download transcript This week, I sat down with Jim Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant at B&C and its consulting affiliate, The Acta Group. As a former Assistant Administrator in what is now the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, Jim has a truly unique and exceedingly focused perspective on EPA and Congressional initiatives involving the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Unsurprisingly,...

The Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, adopted by the European Commission in October 2020, calls on the Commission to ensure that Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on the classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP Regulation) is the central legislation for hazard classification and allows the Commission to initiate harmonised classifications. This article examines the effect of possible CLP amendments.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on April 8, 2022, that it used its Penalty Offense Authority to take action against Kohl’s and Walmart “for falsely marketing dozens of rayon textile products as bamboo.” FTC also charged both companies with making deceptive environmental claims, “touting that the ‘bamboo’ textiles were made using ecofriendly processes, while in reality converting bamboo into rayon requires the use of toxic chemicals and results in hazardous...

On April 5, 2022, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued a notice proposing additional modifications to its proposal to modify its Proposition 65 (Prop 65) Article 6 “clear and reasonable warnings” regulations for “short-form” warnings (Notice). OEHHA first proposed to change the short-form warning requirements on January 8, 2021. On December 13, 2021, OEHHA issued a notice proposing modifications to the revisions in its first proposal. More...

The U.S. Environmental Protection (EPA) announced on April 5, 2022, that it will propose to prohibit ongoing uses of chrysotile asbestos, the only known form of asbestos currently imported into the United States. EPA notes that the proposed rule will be “the first-ever risk management rule issued under the new process for evaluating and addressing the safety of existing chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that was enacted in 2016.” EPA will propose to prohibit...

On April 6, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a webinar on “New Chemical Risk Management Actions under TSCA.” The slides include an embedded voiceover recording of the webinar. As reported in our January 24, 2022, blog item, in January 2022, EPA announced an effort to streamline the review of new biobased or waste-derived chemicals that could displace current, higher greenhouse gas (GHG)-emitting transportation fuels. EPA states that to support this...

On April 5, 2022, Chemical Watch quoted Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent policy interpretation on the fluorination of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) containers. [‌I]n some respects, there has been little surprise at the agency’s view that the generation of certain PFASs during the fluorination of polyolefins – including polyethylene – is an...

The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) published on April 4, 2022, a request for information (RFI) from interested parties on federal programs and activities in support of sustainable chemistry. 87 Fed. Reg. 19539. OSTP notes that “[t]he term “sustainable chemistry” does not have a consensus definition and most uses of the term indicate that it is synonymous with “green chemistry.”” OSTP requests information on the preferred definition for sustainable chemistry. OSTP...

On April 1, 2022, an article written by Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was referenced by Bloomberg Law regarding the White House's efforts to define "sustinable chemistry." The quoted article, "Don’t Ignore Game-Changing EU Environmental Initiatives," discusses noteworthy European Union (EU) chemical regulatory and policy initiatives that are expected to impact U.S. chemical stakeholders.   The White...

Wednesday, May 18, 202212:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. (EDT)Register Today A circular economy requires new thinking about what products we make, from which materials we make them, and where products go at the end of their useful life. An important but often overlooked aspect of new product development is an understanding of the consequences of the product’s chemical composition and the end-of-life implications of the decisions made at the front end of the process. Working within this framework plays a...

On March 31, 2022, Chemical Watch reported on a letter written by the TSCA New Chemicals Coalition (NCC) calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to suspend its plans to revoke a decades-old policy allowing companies to request corrections to the TSCA inventory.  The TSCA New Chemicals Coalition – an ad hoc group represented by the law firm Bergeson & Campbell – said scrapping the process could give rise to a host...

Download transcript. This week, I was delighted to visit again with Alexandra Dunn, now a Partner with Baker Botts and immediate past Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). As Assistant Administrator, Alex was respected and liked by a diversity of industrial and agricultural chemical stakeholders, revered by her immediate staff, and hugely popular as an EPA senior leader. Alex led OCSPP at a...

On March 25, 2022,  Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was quoted by Bloomberg Law regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) plan to no longer process chemical manufacturers’ requests to correct the specific ways chemicals on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) inventory are identified. If the EPA is concerned that companies are using correction requests to add new chemicals to the inventory, it...

Wednesday, April 20, 202212:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. (EDT)Register Today Register now to join Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) for “FIFRA Hot Topics,” a complimentary webinar covering key Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) priorities and what companies should know to avoid market delays. Speakers include: Lisa M. Campbell, Partner, B&C, moderatorEdward Messina, Director, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) OPPJames V. Aidala, Senior Government...

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced on March 22, 2022, an initiative to convert historical letters of interpretation (LOI) applicable to the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) that have been issued to specific stakeholders into broadly applicable frequently asked questions (FAQ) on its website. 87 Fed. Reg. 16308. PHMSA states that by creating a FAQ repository, it seeks to eliminate the need for recurring...

On March 16, 2022, the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing on “Bioenergy Research and Development for the Fuels and Chemicals of Tomorrow.” According to the hearing charter, the purpose of the hearing was to examine the status of bioenergy research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities carried out by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The hearing also considered advancements in bioenergy research and the potential role of this...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®) are pleased to announce that Karin F. Baron, MSPH, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Society for Chemical Hazard Communication. Ms. Baron, a Senior Regulatory Consultant with B&C and Acta, will serve a two-year term. Ms. Baron has participated as an active member of SCHC for the past 20 years; she is the immediate past Chair of the Professional Development Committee. We are especially pleased that Ms....

On March 16, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced two actions intended to safeguard communities from products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). First, as part of EPA’s efforts to identify, understand, and address PFAS contamination leaching from fluorinated containers, EPA states that it is notifying companies of their obligation to comply with existing requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to ensure unintentional...

On March 14, 2022, Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was quoted by Chemical Watch regarding conflicting visions for the upcoming asbestos Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk management rule. Lynn Bergeson, managing partner at law firm Bergeson & Campbell, told Chemical Watch the EPA must look at the availability of "technically and economically feasible alternatives that benefit health or the environment"...

On March 14, 2022, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) was quoted by Chemical Watch on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) decision to no longer consider personal protective equipment (PPE) use in Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk evaluations.  Law firm Bergeson & Campbell said assuming PPE will not be used, including in cases where required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha), "is not based on reasonably...