Alliance Will Strengthen Acta’s and Acta EU’s Ability to Provide REACH and Related Chemical Management Services Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C), The Acta Group, L.L.C. (Acta), and The Acta Group EU, Ltd (Acta EU) are pleased to announce each has entered into a strategic alliance with ENTRIX, Incorporated (ENTRIX), one of the largest scientific environmental and natural resource management consulting firms in the United States. The alliance will provide additional scientific...
On March 17, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is preparing action plans for nonylphenol/nonylphenol ethoxylate (NP/NPE), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), siloxanes, and diisocyanates. EPA is also preparing final action plans for the chemicals remaining on EPA’s initial list — bisphenol A and benzidine dyes. EPA chose the chemicals based on a range of criteria, including identification as persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic; high production...
On March 10, 2010, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Board of Appeals (Board) issued a document, Practice Directions to Parties to Appeal Proceedings Before the Board of Appeal of the European Chemicals Agency (Practice Directions), to provide guidance on various aspects of the appeals proceedings, including communications with the Board, procedures for lodging a notice of appeal and other pleading documents, the rights of parties to confidentiality, and procedures for parties...
On December 30, 2009, the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) adopted the newly amended new chemical notification scheme “Measures on Environmental Management of New Chemical Substances” (新化学物质环境管理办法), Order 7. The new program enters into force on October 15, 2010. This memorandum provides a general overview of this critically important new program. Background The new regulation is intended in part to align China with other leading regulatory...
On March 5, 2010, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report entitled Food Safety: FDA Should Strengthen Its Oversight of Food Ingredients Determined to Be Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) exempts generally recognized as safe (GRAS) substances, which include spices, artificial flavors, emulsifiers and binders, vitamins and minerals, and preservatives, from the general requirement that companies obtain Food and Drug...
On March 9, 2010, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics, and Environmental Health held a hearing entitled “Business Perspectives on Reforming U.S. Chemical Safety Laws.” Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), Chair of the Subcommittee, convened the hearing with leaders of businesses that manufacture or use chemicals to examine their business perspectives on reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Only two other Senators...
March 9, 2010
ECHA Announces New Public Consultation on Eight Potential Substances of Very High Concern
Today the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) proposed to identify eight chemicals as substances of very high concern (SVHC) and possible candidates for authorization under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation. The detailed proposals are available on the ECHA website online. Comments are due April 22, 2010. Potential Additions to the SVHC Listing Denmark, France, and Germany proposed identifying eight substances as SVHCs. ECHA...
Today the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a final rule narrowing the list of hazardous materials (hazmats) that require security plans when transported in commerce. 75 Fed. Reg. 10974. The rule is effective on October 1, 2010, although voluntary compliance is authorized as of April 8, 2010. The final rule also revises the regulations applicable to the content of and training associated with security...
Late last December, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced action plans on phthalates, long-chain chlorinated paraffins (LCCPs), and short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs). The four action plans are the first of many, as EPA intends to issue eight more or so in 2010. This EPA initiative announces actions that are almost breathtaking in scope, and its development and implementation of the action plan items will set a number of new precedents —...
The March 4, 2010, issue of BNA Daily Environment Report quotes Jim Aidala, who participated in the American Bar Association’s March 3, 2010, teleconference on endocrine disruptors....