TSCAblog®

On August 3, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of and solicited public comment on the document entitled “White Paper: Quantitative Human Health Approach to be Applied in the Risk Evaluation for Asbestos Part 2 — Supplemental Evaluation including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos” (White Paper) and related charge questions. 88 Fed. Reg. 51309. EPA states that it will be soliciting comments from expert ad hoc reviewers on the...

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) published a blog item on September 18, 2023, entitled “Now’s the Time — How EPA Can Use TSCA to Turn Off the PFAS Tap.” According to EDF, for both previously approved per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and for new PFAS, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should: EDF concludes that by using its full authority under TSCA, “EPA can ensure a future where chemicals do not compromise our health and...

Earthjustice announced on September 18, 2023, that environmental justice and health advocates have filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “for missing statutory deadlines to complete risk evaluations for 22 toxic chemicals released in high volumes in fenceline communities and found in many everyday consumer products.” Earthjustice states that “EPA initiated risk evaluations for the nearly two dozen toxic...

As reported in our June 23, 2023, memorandum, on June 13, 2023, Bill S-5, Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act, became law. The bill made a number of changes to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), including recognizing that every individual in Canada has a right to a healthy environment as provided under CEPA. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Health Canada (HC) will hold information sessions in October 2023 for...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 7, 2023, that the upcoming 2023 Safer Choice Partner of the Year Awards Ceremony will be held October 2, 2023, and the Partner and Stakeholder Summit will be held October 3-4, 2023. EPA states that during the Partner of the Year Awards Ceremony, it will recognize the 2023 Safer Choice Partners of the Year “for their outstanding achievement in the design, manufacture, selection and use of...

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), on behalf of the federal agencies and departments participating on the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Subcommittee on Scientific Integrity (the Subcommittee), is organizing two virtual listening sessions to hear from members of the public about recommendations, issues, and concerns related to federal department and agency implementation of the NSTC Framework for Federal Scientific Integrity Policy and Practice (the Framework). 88...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 16, 2023, the availability of the latest Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Substance Inventory. EPA notes that this update to the public TSCA Inventory is part of its biannual posting of non-confidential Inventory data. According to EPA, the Inventory contains 86,718 chemicals, of which 42,242 are active in U.S commerce. Other updates to the TSCA Inventory include updates to commercial activity data, unique...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a two-day training on its high throughput toxicokinetic (HTTK) R package as part of its New Approach Methods (NAM) Training Program: According to EPA, toxicokinetics (TK) provides a bridge between toxicity and exposure assessment by predicting tissue concentrations due to exposure. EPA notes that traditional TK methods can be resource intensive and require chemical-specific data. EPA states that its freely available HTTK R...

On August 22, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published ChemExpo, a free, publicly available search and visualization tool for exploring chemical use data relevant to exposure assessment that has been curated from public documents. According to EPA, the interactive web application focuses on data collected by EPA about how chemicals are used in commerce and how they occur in consumer and industrial products. EPA notes that under the Toxic Substances Control Act...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 17, 2023, its National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives (NECI) for 2024-2027, “including for the first time initiatives to mitigate climate change, address exposure to [per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)] contamination, and protect communities from cancer-causing coal ash.” To advance the Biden Administration’s commitment to protect disadvantaged communities, EPA states that it also will...