TSCAblog®

On February 15, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested nominations for technical experts to serve as Special Government Employees (SGE) on a review panel under the authority of the Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC), a federal advisory committee to the Office of Research and Development (ORD). 88 Fed. Reg. 9880. EPA states that selected experts will review ORD’s draft documents detailing scientific studies supporting the development of transcriptomic-based...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 16, 2023, that the latest Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Substance Inventory is now available on its website. The TSCA Inventory is a list of all existing chemical substances manufactured, processed, or imported in the United States. According to EPA, this update to the public TSCA Inventory is part of its biannual posting of non-confidential Inventory data. EPA plans the next regular update of the TSCA...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 13, 2023, that it will accept public comments on candidates under consideration for selection as ad hoc reviewers to assist the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) with peer review of two draft documents related to cumulative risk assessment under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Biographies of these candidates are available on regulations.gov. If selected, candidates will serve as...

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) will hold a virtual public meeting on February 16, 2023, postponed from January 10, 2023, on the chemicals under consideration for listing as Chemicals of Concern (COC) and High-Priority Chemicals (HPC) for the Toxic Chemicals in Children’s Products (TCCP) program. NYS DEC will present an overview of the enacted TCCP law and discuss the chemicals under consideration for listing as COCs and HPCs that manufacturers will be...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 23, 2023, that the New Chemicals Program will hold a webinar on February 28, 2023, on EPA’s process for assessing the potential risks of new chemicals under Section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the types of data EPA considers in this assessment. EPA states that specifically, the upcoming webinar will cover commonly missed information in Section 5 submissions and how EPA evaluates environmental...

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) New Approach Methodologies (NAM) Use for Regulatory Applications (NURA) program is offering a free three-session training series on replacing the traditional two-year bioassay with a more effective, human-relevant carcinogenicity assessment. In “Tomorrow’s Data Today: Sunsetting the 2-year Carcinogenicity Assay,” toxicologists, risk assessors, and scientists will hear directly from other experts on the current progress among working...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 3, 2023, the release of three improved pollution prevention (P2) calculator tools — the P2 Cost Calculator, the P2 Greenhouse Gas Calculator, and the P2 Calculator for Reductions in Hazardous Substances, Pollutants and Contaminants. According to EPA, these tools convert information on P2 activities at a business, such as reductions in energy use, into information on cost savings and pollution...

On January 31, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invited nominations of scientific experts from a diverse range of disciplines to be considered for appointment to the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB). 88 Fed. Reg. 6255. The SAB is a chartered Federal Advisory Committee (FAC) that provides independent scientific and technical peer review, consultation, advice, and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on the scientific bases for EPA’s actions and programs. The EPA...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.’s (B&C®) January 31, 2023, webinar “What to Expect in Chemicals Policy and Regulation and on Capitol Hill in 2023” is now available for on-demand viewing. During this one-hour webinar, Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, B&C; James V. Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant, B&C; Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, B&C; and Dennis R. Deziel, Senior Government Affairs Advisor, B&C discussed...

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced on December 30, 2022, that it received a petition requesting the addition of polyphenylene sulfide to the list of taxable substances under Section 4672(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. 87 Fed. Reg. 80579. The petitioner is Celanese Ltd., an exporter of polyphenylene sulfide. According to the petition, “polyphenylene sulfide is a high-performance thermoplastic, has high heat and chemical resistance, and is used in applications such as filters,...