TSCAblog®

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 24, 2021, that it is extending the submission deadline for manufacturers (including importers) of 50 chemicals to report data from certain unpublished health and safety studies. The deadline for the reporting rule was originally September 27, 2021, and EPA has extended the deadline until December 1, 2021, for 20 of the 50 chemicals and to January 25, 2022, for 30 of the 50 chemicals. The 50 chemicals...

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 PFAS...

This week's All Things Chemical® Podcast will be of interest to readers of the TSCAblog®. A brief description of the episode written by Lynn L. Bergeson is below. This week I sat down with Richard E. Engler, Ph..D., Director of Chemistry with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®), to discuss the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) continuing struggle to regulate certain persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT)...

On September 17, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule amending the regulations applicable to phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)) promulgated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 86 Fed. Reg. 51823. Specifically, EPA is extending the compliance date applicable to the processing and distribution in commerce of certain PIP (3:1)-containing articles, and the PIP (3:1) used to make those articles, from March 8, 2021, to March 8, 2022....

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) held a virtual public meeting on September 15, 2021, on its forthcoming regulations to implement the Toxic Chemicals in Children’s Products Law. New York’s Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) Article 37 Title 9 establishes an ingredient disclosure program and prohibits certain chemicals in children’s products. ECL Article 37 instructs NYS DEC to promulgate lists of chemicals of concern and high priority chemicals that...

On August 31, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the final scope documents for the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk evaluations of diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and diisononyl phthalate (DINP). 86 Fed. Reg. 48695; 86 Fed. Reg. 48693. In its August 31, 2021, press release, EPA notes that both DIDP and DINP “belong to a family of chemicals called phthalates and are commonly used as plasticizers in the production of plastic and...

WEBINARThursday, September 9, 202111:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EDT)Register Now Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is pleased to present a complimentary webinar focused on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulations 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., will discuss three actions recently...

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) will hold a virtual public meeting on September 15, 2021, on the toxic chemicals in children’s products law. NYSDEC will present the chemicals under consideration for listing as Chemicals of Concern and High Priority Chemicals and their practical quantification limits. NYSDEC will also re-present select topics from the May 26, 2021, public meeting, as some details have changed in response to feedback received. NYSDEC...

 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 31, 2021, the availability of the latest Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory. EPA states that the biannual update to the public TSCA Inventory is part of its regular posting of non-confidential TSCA Inventory data. EPA plans the next regular update of the Inventory for winter 2022. According to EPA, the Inventory contains 86,607 chemicals of which 41,953 are active in U.S commerce. Other updates to the TSCA...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now accepting nominations for the 2022 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards from companies or institutions that have developed a new green chemistry process or product that helps protect human health and the environment. EPA states that in support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to tackle the climate crisis, it is adding a new award category to recognize technology that reduces or eliminates greenhouse gas emissions....

On August 23, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of and solicited public comment on guidance on two petition processes applicable to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) regulations. 86 Fed. Reg. 47102. The guidance covers petitions for full exemption of byproduct substances that are recycled or otherwise used within site-limited, physically enclosed systems and petitions for partial exemption of chemicals for which...

On August 17, 2021, Representatives Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Diana DeGette (D-CO), Chair of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and Paul Tonko (D-NY), Chair of the Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change, sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan to request information regarding “concerning reported irregularities” in EPA’s chemical review program. The Committee’s August...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) met with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) on August 5, 2021, to clarify concepts from the July 27, 2021, tiered data reporting (TDR) webinar. EPA’s meeting summary states that EDF representatives requested clarification on the following issues discussed during the webinar: Whether EPA intends to scale back the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) requirements with respect to the amount of information collected per chemical or to the number...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 6, 2021, that it will provide $9,272,545 in funding to seven institutions for research to estimate better children’s chemical exposures from soil and dust ingestion. According to EPA, the research will focus on improving estimates of children’s ingestion rates of chemicals such as lead, mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and asbestos. EPA states that “[a]ccurate, comprehensive measurements of soil and dust...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on July 27, 2021, that it will provide $3.8 million in funding to create two EPA Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Centers for Early Lifestage Vulnerabilities to Environmental Stressors. The centers will focus on early lifestage exposures to chemicals and non-chemical environmental stressors and how these exposures may impact early childhood developmental health. EPA states that scientific research suggests that exposures to...

According to a memorandum posted in Docket ID EPA-HQ-OPPT-2021-0436, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will not extend the comment period stemming from the July 27, 2021, public webinar on the development of a proposed rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to implement a tiered data collection strategy intended to inform EPA’s prioritization, risk evaluation, and risk management activities for chemical substances or mixtures. As reported in our July 29,...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on July 29, 2021, the availability of the preliminary Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data on chemical releases, chemical waste management, and pollution prevention activities that took place during 2020 at almost 21,000 federal and industrial facilities in the United States. EPA notes that the preliminary data include the first-ever reporting on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) added to the TRI by the 2020 National...

As reported in our June 28, 2021, blog item, on June 28, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed reporting and recordkeeping requirements for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 86 Fed. Reg. 33926. EPA announced on July 29, 2021, that it is extending the comment deadline to September 27, 2021. EPA will announce the extension of the comment deadline in the Federal Register. The proposed rule would...

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced on July 14, 2021, that it filed an administrative complaint against Amazon.com, “the world’s largest retailer, to force Amazon to accept responsibility for recalling potentially hazardous products sold on Amazon.com.” CPSC claims that the specified products sold through Amazon’s “fulfilled by Amazon” (FBA) program are defective and pose a risk of serious injury or death to consumers and that Amazon is...

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced on July 20, 2021, that it is organizing a series of three virtual listening sessions to hear about issues and concerns related to scientific integrity from members of the public who produce, communicate, and use scientific and technical information. 86 Fed. Reg. 38363. According to OSTP, it will use perspectives gathered during the virtual listening sessions to inform the assessment of federal agencies’...