All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On October 15, 2017, California governor Jerry Brown (D) signed the Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2017. The law requires manufacturers of cleaning products to disclose certain chemical ingredients on the product label and on the manufacturer’s website. The online disclosure requirements apply to a designated product sold in California on or after January 1, 2020, while the product label disclosure requirements cover products sold in California on or after January 1, 2021.

On October 26, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it would be hosting a public meeting on November 2, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EST) to obtain input from interested parties and the public on its development of a Strategic Plan to promote the development and implementation of alternative test methods and strategies to reduce, refine, or replace vertebrate animal testing.  EPA is required under Section 4(h) of the Toxic Substances Control Act...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On October 17, 2017, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy issued a $26 million funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for cost-shared research and development projects that support the DOE Carbon Capture Program’s goal of broad, cost-effective carbon capture deployment.  The Novel and Enabling Carbon Capture Transformational Technologies FOA consists of two areas of interest, specifically: Development of novel...

On October 26, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register a proposed rule on reporting requirements for the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) mercury inventory.  82 Fed. Reg. 49564.  Under TSCA Section 8(b)(10)(B), the mercury inventory, which includes mercury “supply, use, and trade” in the United States, is required to be published every three years.  Information on the 2017 mercury inventory report is available in our...

On October 25, 2017, Brian Xu, M.D., PH.D., DABT®, toxicologist with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was quoted by Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report regarding China’s updated pesticide regulations. China's pesticide regulations were updated in the Agriculture Ministry's Order No. 3, which went into effect Aug. 1, but observers said disparities still exist between that directive and the subsequent Proclamation No. 2569, which details the data companies...

On October 25, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in coordination with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and OPP, will be holding two public meetings to discuss FDA’s Agricultural Biotechnology Education and Outreach Initiative.  The meetings will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina on November 7,...

On October 25, 2017, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee confirmed the nominations of four U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials:  Michael Dourson, Ph.D., for Assistant Administrator (AA) of the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP); William Wehrum, Esquire, for AA of the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), Matthew Leopold, Esquire, for General Counsel, and David Ross, Esquire for AA of the Office of Water (OW).  Dourson and...

On October 12, 2017, Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), presented at the “Innovative Consumer Products and Legal Risk” breakout session at the 2017 Retail Law Conference in Chicago, Illinois. The Retail Industry Leaders Association’s (RILA) Retail Litigation Center hosts this annual gathering of in-house counsel to cover pressing issues facing the retail industry and provide opportunity for interactive participation in roundtable...

The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) has rescheduled its Committee Business Meeting to vote on nominees to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for October 25, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).  The EPA nominees are:  Michael Dourson, Ph.D., for Assistant Administrator (AA) of the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP); William Wehrum, Esquire for AA of the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), Matthew Leopold, Esquire, for...

The Sixth Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization (SNO) Conference will be held November 5-7, 2017, in Los Angeles, California.  According to SNO, the Conference sessions represent a hybrid of topics on selected “systems” that contribute to sustainability and more traditional topics.  Sessions will be populated with talks on applications, effects and implications, analytical methods, and lifecycle aspects of nanomaterials within each system.  The aims are to...

University of California San Diego, “A Flip Flop Revolution” Gevo Inc., “Department of Energy’s National Labs to Collaborate with Gevo to Optimize Ethanol-to-Olefins (ETO) Catalyst Performance:  Project to Explore Using Other Potential Feedstocks Including Low-Value Process Side Streams from Industrial Plants” Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, “Fueling the Future”

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On October 9, 2017, American Process Inc. and Byogy Renewables, Inc. announced the launch of Phase 1 of its “Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts with AVAP (ABBA)” project following the completion of negotiations with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).  American Process received $3.7 million in funding for ABBA from DOE under the “Project Definition for Pilot- and Demonstration-Scale Manufacturing of Biofuels, Bioproducts, and...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On October 12, 2017, Edeniq, Inc., a leading cellulosic and biorefining technology company, announced that Flint Hills Resources, a member of the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®), received approval from EPA for cellulosic ethanol production at its Iowa Falls ethanol plant.  The 100 million gallons per year plant will use Edeniq’s Pathway technology to produce the cellulosic ethanol and will be eligible to qualify its cellulosic...

On October 17, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a “Quick Guide for Disinfectant Products for Drinking Water Use by Public Water Systems” (Quick Guide) which it states was developed “in response to requests to help prospective pesticide registrants gain a basic understanding of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) product registration process and how it relates to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requirements.”  Further,...

On October 18, 2017, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee postponed a scheduled business meeting to vote on the nominations of four U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials:  Michael Dourson, Ph.D., for Assistant Administrator (AA) of the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP); William Wehrum, Esquire for AA of the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), Matthew Leopold, Esquire, for General Counsel, and David Ross, Esquire for AA of the Office...

On October 15, 2017, California Governor Jerry Brown signed California Senate Bill (S.B.) 258, the Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2017, which will require manufacturers of cleaning products to disclose certain chemical ingredients on the product label and on the manufacturer’s website.  More information on S.B. 258 is available in our memorandum “California Bill Would Require Disclosure of Cleaning Product Ingredients” and on our blog under key word cleaning products....

It is widely reported that California Governor Jerry Brown imminently will sign California Senate Bill (S.B.) 258, the Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2017, which would require manufacturers of cleaning products to disclose certain chemical ingredients on the product label and on the manufacturer’s website.  The final version of S.B. 258 was passed by the California Senate on September 13, 2017, by a vote of 27 to 13.  The California Assembly passed the bill by a vote of 55 to...

The European Union (EU) NanoSafety Cluster will hold the first in a series of webinars on November 20, 2017.  The series will introduce the EU NanoSafety Cluster’s work and the key outcomes from its projects.  The first webinar will present the EU NanoSafety Cluster, what it does, and provide examples of its work.  Future webinars, which will be held every four months, will cover important project outcomes and their impact on the safe development of nanomaterials to consumers across all...