The Chemical Society of Washington is holding a dinner meeting on April 27, 2017. B&C Senior Chemist Richard Engler, Ph.D. is the featured speaker. Dr. Engler will discuss the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) before and after reform and some of the challenges EPA and industry face in implementing and complying with the new law. The dinner meeting is open to the public but reservations are required. Cost is $18 members and guests/$9 for...
Category: General
On April 25, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued two notices in the Federal Register expressing its determination that 28 new chemical notifications are “not likely to present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment.” 82 Fed Reg. 19044 (Statement of Findings for December 2016); 82 Fed. Reg. 19046 (Statements of Findings for February 2017). The statements of findings list premanufacture notices (PMN) and microbial commercial...
April 24, 2017
EC4safenano Conducts Survey on Demand and Supply of Services for Safe Use of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology
The European Center for Risk Management and Safe Innovation in Nanomaterials and Nanotechnologies (EC4safenano) states that it wishes to develop a catalog of services matching the anticipated needs and service requirements to the supply of services from different organizations. It has sent a survey to different stakeholders, including European Union (EU) Member States, the European Commission (EC) and EC agencies, industry, and bodies representing the general public. ...
According to press reports, Nancy Beck, Ph.D., DABT has been hired as the Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). Dr. Beck holds a doctorate in environmental health from the University of Washington. For the past five years she served as the Senior Director for Regulatory Science Policy at the American Chemistry Council (ACC). For a decade prior to ACC, she was an analyst...
On August 18, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it would be holding a public workshop on the use of the paint remover methylene chloride in furniture refinishing on September 12, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (EDT) at its Region 1 Headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. It is holding the workshop in collaboration with the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy. The meeting aims to “facilitate an exchange of information...
April 21, 2017
Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) Science Forum, April 18 – 21, 2017, Washington, D.C.
The GMA Science Forum educates scientists and decision makers within the food, beverage and consumer products industry. This event brings together a roster of acclaimed individuals to keep the science community abreast and ahead of emerging science, innovation, safety and legal requirements in a wide array of areas. Lynn L. Bergeson will present on the current status of TSCA to the chemicals management committee on April 21.
April 21, 2017
IBB Announces Higher Blend Biofuels Dominate in Iowa
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On April 4, 2017, the Iowa Biodiesel Board (IBB) announced that the Iowa Department of Revenue’s 2016 Retailers Fuel Gallons Annual Report demonstrated that more than half of Iowa’s fuel retailers carried biodiesel blends in 2016. In 2016, 344.8 million gallons of on-road biodiesel blends were sold, which accounts for 54.7 percent of total on-road diesel fuel sales. The report also showed that twice as many gallons of 11 - 20 percent...
By Kathleen M. Roberts The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) is hosting an Algae Cultivation for Carbon Capture and Utilization Workshop on May 23-24, 2017, in Orlando, Florida. The event will feature facilitated discussions focused on gathering stakeholder input on innovative technologies and business strategies for growing algae on waste carbon dioxide (CO2) resources. Stakeholders will be encouraged to consider challenges and...
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On April 13, 2017, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) announced that it was formally initiating antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia. The decision follows a petition filed by the National Biodiesel Board Fair Trade Coalition, as reported in the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) blog post “National Biodiesel Board Fair Trade Coalition Files...
On August 18, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to publish a notice in the Federal Register stating that it will be holding the third and fourth committee meetings of the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (NRC) on September 13, 2017, from 9:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m. (EDT) to September 14, 2017, from 9:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m. (EDT); and on October 25, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EDT) to October 26, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (EDT). The...
On August 14, 2017, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) announced it would be forming a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) New Chemicals Coalition. That the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now required to make a determination on all new chemicals (or significant new uses of existing chemicals) is at the heart of the changes in EPA’s review of new chemicals, and the new policies and practices that have emerged since June of 2016. What is less clear is how EPA is...
April 14, 2017
Lynn L. Bergeson, “TSCA Targets Mercury: EPA regulation aims to minimize mercury use,” Chemical Processing, April 14, 2017.
On March 29, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its initial inventory report of mercury supply, use and trade in the United States pursuant to the requirements of the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This article outlines this development in the context of mercury regulation under the TSCA.
April 14, 2017
Lynn L. Bergeson, “TSCA Reform: Key Provisions and Implications,” Environmental Quality Management, Winter 2016.
On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. The text of the law is available at: http://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2576/text. The law substantially amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and in so doing, fundamentally alters the domestic management of industrial chemicals, the lifeblood of many manufacturing processes. This article summarizes key changes and explains their likely impacts on...
April 13, 2017
UAI Challenges CRC Study On Vehicular Emissions
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On March 29, 2017, the Urban Air Initiative (UAI) released a statement claiming that the Coordinating Research Council’s (CRC) study on fuel emissions was biased and flawed. According to UAI, the match blending of test fuels in the study fails to recognize the performance of ethanol in real world fuels, including improving fuel quality and reducing toxic tailpipe emissions. UAI stated that performing match blending in a lab using a custom test fuel...
By Kathleen M. Roberts On April 4, 2017, the Hawaii State Senate Committee on Ways and Means passed HB 1580, which sets a goal of having all ground transportation in Hawaii run on renewable fuel by 2045. The bill, which does not contain an enforcement mechanism, provides a benchmark framework for achieving the ambitious target and establishes an intermediate target to reduce the sale of imported fuels by five percent in 2025. The Senate Committee introduced amendments that clarify...
April 11, 2017
EU Addresses the Use of Nanomaterials in Medical Devices
On April 5, 2017, the European Parliament (EP) approved a regulation on medical devices, as well as a regulation on in vitro diagnostic medical devices. The EP’s April 5, 2017, press release states that the medical devices regulation is intended to ensure that medical devices are traceable and comply with European Union (EU) safety requirements. The medical devices regulation addresses the use of nanomaterials in medical devices. The European...
A trio of recent internal U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) memoranda are providing insight into how EPA intends to implement President Trump’s review and potential pogrom of EPA regulations. Virtually no program or regulation appears to be secure from the chopping block. Many stakeholders in industry and other sectors may be alarmed to see programs that are of benefit to them assigned a slot in the guillotine. Supporters of these programs, thus, would be wise to educate senior EPA...
A trio of recent internal U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) memoranda are providing insight into how EPA intends to implement President Trump’s review and potential pogrom of EPA regulations. Virtually no program or regulation appears to be secure from the chopping block. Many stakeholders in industry and other sectors may be alarmed to see programs that are of benefit to them assigned a slot in the guillotine. Supporters of these programs, thus, would be wise to...
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On March 24, 2017, the California Energy Commission (CEC) published a notice on the proposed recipients of up to $23 million in Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) funding for applied research and development (AR&D) and technology demonstration and development (TD&D) activities focused on advancing bioenergy electricity generation. The funding opportunity is focused on three main bioenergy applications, including: ? Efficient,...
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On March 23, 2017, the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Resources Board (ARB) announced the release of new carbon intensity pathways for fuels certified under the low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) using the CA-GREET 2.0 model. Of the 18 pathways approved in March, eight are first generation biodiesel carbon intensity pathways and four are second generation renewable diesel carbon intensity pathways. A pathway for biodiesel produced from...