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Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is pleased to offer the recording, slides, and written Question and Answer (Q&A) document from our “PFAS Reporting Rules — What Every Company Needs to Know” webinar, focusing on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed reporting rules for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), presented by B&C Managing Partner Lynn L. Bergeson and Director of Chemistry Richard E. Engler, Ph.D. Do you wonder if the...

On September 15, 2021, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on several U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nominees, including Amanda Howe, nominated for Assistant Administrator for Mission Support, and David Uhlmann, nominated for Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. Amanda Howe has a long history of public service, including such roles as the Chief Operating Officer for the now-Vice President, Kamala Harris, for...

Download Transcript This week I sat down with Dr. Richard E. Engler, B&C’s and The Acta Group’s (our consulting affiliate) Director of Chemistry, to discuss the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) continuing struggle to regulate certain persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals, especially those found in finished products, what EPA refers to as “articles.” The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has always applied to the products, or articles, that...

The implementation of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) provisions relating to regulating persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals has been anything but smooth. On September 3, 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it intends to initiate new PBT rulemaking and anticipates proposing new rules for five PBT chemicals subject to final risk management rules under TSCA Section 6(h). Additionally, and happily, the agency extended the compliance dates for the...

On September 14, 2021, Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was quoted by Chemical Watch regarding criticism of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to grant industry additional time to comply with a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) prohibition on phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) – or PIP (3:1) – in articles.  Some in industry, however, argue the approach represents the agency’s best effort in...

On September 14, 2021, Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, B&C, were quoted by Chemical Watch in the article “US EPA ‘turns up the heat’ on industry to demonstrate PIP rule challenges.” The EPA, however, has made clear that it will not give [companies] further time lightly.  Many commenters “did not provide sufficiently specific information about their...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®) are pleased to announce that Meibao Zhuang, Ph.D., has joined our firms as Senior Scientist and Regulatory Consultant. Dr. Zhuang offers clients in-depth scientific knowledge and exceptional skills in global and regional regulatory strategy honed over a nearly 20-year career leading regulatory efforts with Corteva Agriscience (Corteva) and Dow AgroSciences LLC (Dow). Dr. Zhuang is a research scientist with a Ph.D. in...

On August 31, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of the final scope documents for the manufacturer-requested risk evaluations (MRRE) of di-isodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and diisononyl phthalate (DINP). 86 Fed. Reg. 48695; 86 Fed. Reg. 48693. The scope documents include the conditions of use, hazards, exposures, and the potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations that EPA plans to consider in conducting the risk...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 3, 2021, that it intends to initiate a new rulemaking and anticipates proposing new rules for five persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals that are the subject of final risk management rules under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Additionally, and importantly, EPA is extending the compliance dates for the prohibitions on processing and distribution and the associated recordkeeping requirements of one of...

Download transcript This week, I sat down with Daniel Rosenberg, Director, Federal Toxics Policy, Healthy People & Thriving Communities Program, at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Daniel’s distinguished legal career has placed him at the forefront of the evolving law and policy of domestic chemical regulation. Daniel and I discuss new Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) implementation of the 2016 amendments to TSCA...

The European Commission (EC) is holding a targeted consultation on potential revisions to the Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) to introduce information requirements to improve the identification of substances with endocrine disrupting potential. The EC has developed two different options that would amend the Annexes to include new standard tests providing information on endocrine disrupting...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) was pleased to announce a complimentary webinar focused on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) issues on September 9, 2021, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EDT). B&C Managing Partner Lynn L. Bergeson and Director of Chemistry Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., discussed EPA’s proposed rules and what the regulated community must know and do to comply. A recording is now available....

Food safety comes in many forms. Years ago, Congress passed the Food Quality Protection Act, amending the nation’s pesticide law to ensure a safer, more reliable, food supply. Consumer groups have urged Congress for years to modernize the nation’s food chemical law, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), to address often-stated concerns with chemicals in food. Thus far, those concerns remain largely unaddressed by any legislative effort. Things may be changing. On July...

Download transcript This week I sat down with Karin F. Baron, Senior Regulatory Consultant at B&C and our consulting affiliate, The Acta Group. Karin works extensively with the European Union’s (EU) Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals, better known as REACH, which is the EU counterpart to the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). We discuss REACH Article 41 “compliance checks,” an innocuous-sounding component of REACH that has the potential to...

WEBINARThursday, September 9, 202111:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EDT)Register Now PODCASTAvailable NowListen HereTranscript Available Here When it comes to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is not messing around. The agency announced on June 10, 2021, three actions intended to protect communities from PFAS: More information about these rules is available in our June 11, 2021, memorandum “EPA Announces Three PFAS Actions, Including Proposed...

On August 12, 2021, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was quoted by Bloomberg Law regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) review process for new chemicals. Richard E. Engler, who directs chemistry at Bergeson and Campbell PC, said the EPA still decided to regulate a new chemical after concluding it would pose “no unreasonable risk”—the safest conclusion the agency can reach. Engler said...

On August 11, 2021, Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was quoted by Chemical Watch regarding the possibility that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will extend compliance dates for Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) prohibitions on phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)) before a pause on enforcement is set to expire early next month.  Lynn Bergeson, a partner with Bergeson & Campbell who...

On August 11, 2021, Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was quoted by Chemical Watch regarding the compliance challenges of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) reporting rule. The language of the NDAA limits the EPA’s ability to make certain changes. For example, it says a final rule must be issued by 1 January 2023, and reporting must cover “each person who has...

On July 26, 2021, Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, introduced the Food Chemical Reassessment Act of 2021 (H.R. 4694), which would require the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to study and reassess chemicals used in food. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) joined Schakowsky in introducing the legislation. According to Schakowsky’s July 26, 2021, press release, “thousands” of...

In a July 30, 2021, filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that it cannot “meaningfully commence” risk management rulemaking for 1,4-dioxane until it nears completion of its reconsideration of the final risk evaluation. EPA released the final risk evaluation for 1,4-dioxane on January 8, 2021, in the final weeks of the Trump Administration. On June 30, 2021, the Biden-Harris EPA announced several policy...