TSCAblog®

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on October 23, 2019, that it settled with Miles Chemical Company Inc. for failing to report timely chemical substances it imported.  Under the settlement, the company will pay a $45,000 penalty.  According to EPA, between 2012 and 2015, Miles Chemical Company failed to submit timely forms to EPA documenting the import of large quantities of two chemicals.  EPA notes that under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), chemical...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced on September 23, 2019, that it plans to begin an evaluation of EPA’s implementation of the 2009 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) premanufacture notice (PMN) consent order with DuPont [Chemours].  According to OIG, its objective is to determine what actions EPA took to verify compliance with the requirements of the consent order to prevent release of the chemical GenX into the Cape Fear...

On September 30, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of the meeting minutes and final report for the June 18-21, 2019, meeting of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) on the draft risk evaluation for Pigment Violet 29 (PV29).  SACC’s report addresses the scientific issues being considered by EPA regarding the peer review for the draft risk evaluation.  As reported in our...

On September 25, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted a proposed significant new use rule (SNUR) on long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylate (LCPFAC) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonate (PFAS) chemical substances to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.  The item on the rulemaking in EPA’s Spring 2019 Regulatory Agenda states that in 2015, EPA proposed amending the SNURs under Section 5(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for LCPFAC...

On September 25, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized 14 Safer Choice Partner of the Year award winners for outstanding achievement in 2018 for the design, manufacture, selection, and use of products with safer chemicals for use in households and facilities nationwide.  The Safer Choice program partners with businesses and others to help consumers and commercial buyers identify products with safer chemical ingredients, without sacrificing quality or...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 20, 2019, that it will extend the public comment period for its proposed rule intended to reduce exposures to certain chemicals that are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT).  84 Fed. Reg. 36728.  EPA identified five chemicals pursuant to Section 6(h) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA):  decabromodiphenyl ether (DecaBDE); phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)), also known as...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 19, 2019, that it posted the first public Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory to include unique identifier (UID) information.  EPA states that the UID is a numerical identifier assigned to a chemical substance when EPA approves a confidential business information (CBI) claim for specific chemical identity.  When EPA approves such a claim, it assigns a UID to that chemical identity; applies the UID...

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) published a September 16, 2019, blog item entitled “EPA’s latest move to deflect criticism of its TSCA risk evaluations: Muzzle its science advisors.”  EDF notes that it has opposed a number of recent decisions made by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “that aim to limit the risks it finds when evaluating the safety of chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA),” including: Excluding from its analysis known human...

On September 3, 2019, Earthjustice filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a notice of intent to sue EPA under Section 20(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for “EPA’s repeated and ongoing failures to comply with TSCA’s nondiscretionary mandates to disclose to the public information about new chemical substances reviewed by EPA.”  According to Earthjustice, EPA “routinely fails to disclose” certain information regarding the submission and review of...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a press release on September 10, 2019, announcing that EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler signed a directive to prioritize efforts to reduce animal testing.  Administrator Wheeler also announced $4.25 million in funding to five universities to research the development and use of alternative test methods and strategies that reduce, refine, and/or replace vertebrate animal testing.  Administrative Wheeler directs the Office of Chemical...

On September 4, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released new guidance intended to help methylene chloride processors and distributors comply with EPA’s March 2019 rule issued under Section 6(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) prohibiting the manufacture (including import), processing, or distribution in commerce of methylene chloride for consumer paint and coating removal.  The final rule became effective on May 28, 2019.  Each person who...

In a significant victory for industry, on August 27, 2019, the State of New York Supreme Court invalidated the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program (Disclosure Program).  Information related to NYDEC’s prior delay of its enforcement of its Disclosure Program is available here, and general information regarding the Program and its extensive requirements for manufacturers of certain consumer cleaning products to...

In a significant victory for industry, on August 27, 2019, the State of New York Supreme Court invalidated the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program (Disclosure Program).  Information related to NYDEC’s prior delay of its enforcement of its Disclosure Program is available here, and general information regarding the Program and its extensive requirements for manufacturers of certain consumer cleaning products to...

 In a significant victory for industry, on August 27, 2019, the State of New York Supreme Court invalidated the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program (Disclosure Program).  Information related to NYDEC’s prior delay of its enforcement of its Disclosure Program is available here, and general information regarding the Program and its extensive requirements for manufacturers of certain consumer...

The cost of generating health and safety studies is considerable and data owners have every right to expect some protection from disclosure to preserve the value of their intellectual property.  This is no longer guaranteed as Lynn L. Bergeson, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., and Kathleen M. Roberts wrote in a two-part article in Bloomberg Environment Insights. The authors propose that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) practice of...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 22, 2019, the appointment of Dennis Deziel as Regional Administrator for Region 1.  Mr. Deziel will oversee environmental protection efforts in the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut and in ten Tribal Nations.  According to EPA, Mr. Deziel has spent much of his life working in public service in Washington, D.C.  He most recently worked at Dow as the...

On August 23, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice proposing to designate 20 chemical substances as high-priority substances for risk evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  84 Fed. Reg. 44300.  The notice includes a summary of the approach used by EPA to support the proposed designations, the proposed designation for each of the chemical substances, and instructions on how to access the chemical-specific information,...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted an August 7, 2019, petition for rulemaking submitted by the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  PEER asks that oil refineries be prohibited from using hydrofluoric acid in their manufacturing processes and that oil refineries be required to phase out the use of hydrofluoric acid within two years.  According to PEER, TSCA and the Clean Air...

On August 20, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register final significant new use rules (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 145 chemical substances that are the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN).  84 Fed. Reg. 43266.  According to EPA, the chemical substances are subject to orders issued by EPA pursuant to TSCA Section 5(e).  The final SNURs require persons who intend to manufacture (defined by...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 16, 2019, that it is opening a public comment period for manufacturer requests for the risk evaluations of diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and diisononyl phthalate (DINP), two chemicals used in plastic production.  EPA notes that the manufacturer-requested risk evaluations “are among the first such evaluations of this kind to be requested” under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  EPA is also taking public...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has named Dr. Lynn Dekleva as Associate Deputy Assistant Administrator for New Chemicals.  Dr. Dekleva joined EPA in October 2018 as a Science Advisor, working to streamline and improve EPA’s processes and timeliness concerning the review of new chemicals under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act.  Dr. Dekleva is an environmental engineer with degrees in environmental microbiology, medical technology, and biology....

Section 5(g) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish a statement of its findings after its review of TSCA Section 5(a) notices when EPA makes a finding that a new chemical substance or significant new use is not likely to present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment.  On August 12, 2019, EPA published a statement of its findings for June 2019.  84 Fed. Reg. 39828.  EPA notes that such statements apply...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on August 9, 2019, the draft risk evaluation for 1-bromopropane (1-BP), the fourth of the first ten chemicals undergoing risk evaluation under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  EPA made the following initial determinations on risk: Unreasonable risks to workers, occupational non-users, and consumers under certain conditions of use.  EPA notes that these initial determinations are not its final determinations...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 1, 2019, that it is making additional information about new chemical notices available on its website.  The new web page, “Statistics for the New Chemicals Review Program under TSCA,” allows users to view and search monthly updates for any active Premanufacture Notice (PMN), Significant New Use Notice (SNUN) and Microbial Commercial Activity Notice (MCAN) of interest by case number.  Users can also download a...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice on May 15, 2019, announcing the availability of a signed action identifying chemical substances for inactive designation according to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory Notification (Active-Inactive) Requirements rule.  84 Fed. Reg. 21772.  The signed action, dated May 6, 2019, initiated a 90-day period after which substances identified as inactive will be designated as inactive.  Inactive...

On July 29, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register its proposed rule intended to reduce exposures to certain chemicals that are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT).  84 Fed. Reg. 36728.  EPA identified five chemicals pursuant to Section 6(h) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA):  decabromodiphenyl ether (DecaBDE); phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)), also known as tris(4-isopropylphenyl) phosphate;...

 In the March 27, 2019, Federal Register, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its final regulatory rulemaking that prohibits the manufacture (including import), processing, and distribution of methylene chloride for consumer paint and coating removal. 84 Fed. Reg. 11420.  See Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.’s memorandum, “EPA Bans Consumer Sales of Methylene Chloride Paint Removers, Seeks Comment on Program for Commercial...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is pleased to present the complimentary webinar “New TSCA at 3: Key Implementation Issues.” The webinar will drill down on key implementation challenges facing industry and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) three years into navigating the legal, regulatory, and science policy issues arising under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act). Alexandra Dapolito Dunn, Assistant Administrator,...

The House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Technology will hold a hearing on “Benign by Design:  Innovations in Sustainable Chemistry” on July 25, 2019.  Witnesses will include: Dr. Tim Persons, Chief Scientist and Managing Director, Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics, U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO);  Dr. John Warner, President and Chief Technology Officer, Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry;  Dr. Julie...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice on June 28, 2019, announcing that the EPA Safer Choice Program is accepting submissions for its 2019 Safer Choice Partner of the Year Awards.  84 Fed. Reg. 31066.  The Safer Choice Program partners with businesses and others to help consumers and commercial buyers identify products with safer chemical ingredients, “without sacrificing quality or performance.”  Toward this end, according to EPA, the Safer...

Earlier this month, David Fischer joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) as a Deputy Assistant Administrator.  Prior to joining EPA, Mr. Fischer was most recently a partner of legal and regulatory affairs at IBEX Partners LLC, a public affairs firm.  Before his partnership at IBEX, Mr. Fischer held several senior positions at the American Chemistry Council in its Office of General Counsel and Chemical Products and...

On June 28, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed its response to the non-governmental organizations’ (NGO) supplemental brief in a case challenging EPA’s prioritization and risk evaluation rules.  Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families v. EPA, No. 17-72260.  According to EPA, petitioners “have plausibly alleged standing to challenge only the definitional interpretation of ‘conditions of use’ and the two provisions still subject to EPA’s motion for voluntary...

On June 28, 2019, a coalition of 11 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its failure to initiate an asbestos reporting rule under Section 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  The complaint argues that EPA wrongfully denied the states’ January 31, 2019, petition, filed under TSCA Section 21, to issue a rule for the reporting of the...

On June 28, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the draft risk evaluations for cyclic aliphatic bromide cluster (HBCD) and 1,4-dioxane, two of the first ten chemicals undergoing risk evaluation under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  In its June 28, 2019, press release, EPA states in the draft risk evaluation for HBCD, it did not find unreasonable risk to the general population, consumers, workers, or the environment.  According to EPA, in...

As reported in our June 28, 2019, memorandum, on June 24, 2019, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.(B&C®), the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), and the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (GWU) presented “TSCA: Three Years Later,” a day-long conference with leading experts exploring the current impacts of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) on science policies, challenges faced by industry, and the impacts of TSCA on regulatory policies,...

On May 16, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit heard oral arguments in a case filed by non-governmental organizations (NGO) challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) prioritization and risk evaluation rules.  Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families v. EPA, No. 17-72260.  During oral arguments, the court asked the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) whether it had standing to be before the court.  NRDC responded that it does, arguing that EPA’s rules...

On May 16, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit heard oral arguments in a case filed by non-governmental organizations (NGO) challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) prioritization and risk evaluation rules.  Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families v. EPA, No. 17-72260.  During oral arguments, the court asked the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) whether it had standing to be before the court.  NRDC responded that it does, arguing that...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released on June 21, 2019, a proposed rule intended to reduce exposures to certain chemicals that are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT).  EPA identified five chemicals pursuant to Section 6(h) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA):  decabromodiphenyl ether (DecaBDE); phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)), also known as tris(4-isopropylphenyl) phosphate; 2,4,6-tris(tert-butyl)phenol (2,4,6-TTBP); hexachlorobutadiene...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published statistics concerning its review of confidential business information (CBI) cases received between June 22 2016, and June 25, 2019.  The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, enacted in 2016, amended the CBI provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  Since then, EPA “has established numerous new processes, systems, and procedures to enable submitters to provide the information...

On June 20, 2019, Senators Tom Udall (D-NM), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler requesting information on EPA’s implementation of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act).  The letter notes that the Lautenberg Act was intended to enact reforms addressing “longstanding structural problems” with...

On June 12, 2019, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) announced that it will delay enforcement of the Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program (Disclosure Program) from July 1, 2019, to January 1, 2020.  NYSDEC states in the June 12, 2019, Environmental Notice Bulletin that it will begin enforcing any violations of the required disclosure as of January 2, 2020.  According to the notice, NYSDEC “will...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on July 15, 2019, that it will cease sending notices of deficiency to businesses that submit procedurally flawed confidential business information (CBI) claims under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  This is a significant change from the interpretation EPA announced in January 2017, and a company’s failure to appreciate its consequences could prove damaging.  Effective August 15, 2019, EPA will provide written notice to...

On June 14, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that on May 24, 2019, EPA received manufacturer requests for EPA to conduct risk evaluations of diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) from ExxonMobil Chemical Company and diisononyl phthalate (DINP) from ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Evonik Corporation, and Teknor Apex, both through the American Chemistry Council’s High Phthalates Panel.  EPA states that both DIDP and DINP belong to a family of chemicals commonly referred to...

On July 5, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected an “invitation” to recognize liability under the False Claims Act (FCA) based on a company’s failure to meet a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reporting requirement and failure to pay an unassessed TSCA penalty.  Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP v. BASF Corp. (No. 1:16-cv-02269).  The court states that the FCA imposes civil liability on anyone who defrauds the federal government of...

Please check out Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.'s (B&C®) new podcast "Inside OCSPP with EPA Assistant Administrator Alexandra Dapolito Dunn" on its All Things Chemical™ webpage.  In this podcast, Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner of B&C, presents a very special guest, the Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP):  Alexandra Dapolito Dunn.  As Assistant Administrator Dunn has spent just over...

On June 11-13, 2019, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Green Chemistry Institute® will host the 23rd Annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference and the 9th International Conference on Green and Sustainable Chemistry.  The Conference will be held right outside of Washington D.C. in Reston, Virginia, and will focus on the theme of “Closing the Loop” in the chemical life cycle.  With over three days of programming, the Conference offers more than 40 technical...

On June 10, 2019, at 5:00 p.m., the American Chemical Society (ACS) will hold the 2019 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.  Sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), in partnership with the ACS Green Chemistry Institute® and members of the chemical community, these prestigious annual awards recognize chemical technologies that incorporate the principles of green...

On May 9, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it would soon be making available a signed action signed on May 6, 2019, that identifies chemical substances for inactive designation according to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory Notification (Active-Inactive) Requirements rule.  The pre-publication version of the notice is available here.  Specifically, EPA states that the signed action is a companion to the first version of the TSCA...

On May 16, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has updated its Statistics for the New Chemicals Review Program under TSCA web page, which is under EPA’s Reviewing New Chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) section, to make it easier to find and understand how many chemicals are in each stage of the new chemicals review process.  The revised web page now includes a flow chart showing the number of new chemicals cases...

On May 9, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it will hold the first meeting of the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), for Pigment Violet 29 (PV29), the first chemical of the initial ten chemicals undergoing review, on June 18-21, 2019, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (EDT) at the Holiday Inn Rosslyn at Key Bridge, Rosslyn Ballroom, 1900 North Fort Myer Drive, Arlington, Virginia.  84 Fed....