The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on May 24, 2016, that Viatek Consumer Products Group, Inc. and Company owner and President Lou Lentine have agreed to settle FTC charges that they made deceptive claims for Viatek-brand Mosquito Shield Bands. FTC also charged Lentine and Viatek with violating a 2003 administrative order prohibiting Lentine from making product claims without "competent and reliable" evidence to support them. According to the FTC's February 2015 complaint in the...
Category: General
Stewardship 2016 is the only national conference dedicated to educating and equipping product stewards, industrial hygienists, environmental health and safety (EHS) professionals, and others involved in the day-to-day work of product stewardship. Lynn L. Bergeson will present “Nanomaterials… No Small Product Stewardship Matter.” Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. is a proud sponsor.
TechConnect World Innovation Conference & Expo delivers application-focused research from the top international academic, government, and private industry labs to identify new technology trends, development tools, product opportunities, R&D collaborations, and commercialization partners. B&C Managing Partner Lynn L. Bergeson will present “Emerging Legal and Product Stewardship Implications of Products of Nanotechnology”, B&C Consortia Management Vice...
May 20, 2016
Weekly Roundup of Other Biobased News
? Energy.gov, "Energy And Commerce Departments Announce Lab Partnership Opportunities for U.S. Small Businesses and Manufacturers" ? EPA, "EPA Awards 18 Grants For Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training" ? The New York Times, "Biofuels Plant in Hawaii Is First to Be Certified as Sustainable" ? The Motley Fool, "Can The U.S. Military Afford to Run on Biofuels?" ? Quad-City Times, "Guest View: for the Farmers, the Biofuel Bubble Has...
In May of 2016, the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) awarded the University of Illinois and the University of Florida $300,000 to continue researching ultra-productive biofuel crops. The research project is called Plants Engineered To Replace Oil in Sugarcane and Sweet Sorghum (PETROSS), and this is the third round of funding that it will receive from ARPA-E. PETROSS is engineering sugarcane and sorghum to produce 20 percent oil, compared to the 0.05 percent oil that...
May 20, 2016
Submissions Now Open For Bioenergy 2016: Mobilizing The Bioeconomy Through Innovation Posters
On May 16, 2016, the DOE's BETO invited applications for abstracts for the poster session of the ninth annual conference Bioenergy 2016: Mobilizing the Bioeconomy through Innovation. Poster abstracts are due by June 3, 2016, and must fit the following guidelines: Not exceed the maximum of 300 words; Explain validity and technical merit of the approach; Discuss how the poster will be used to engage Bioenergy 2016 attendees; Highlight applicability to BETO...
According to an item in the Spring 2016 Regulatory Agenda, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is “developing a final rule related to” its April 6, 2015, proposal to require reporting and recordkeeping requirements under Section 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for certain chemical substances when they are manufactured or processed at the nanoscale. EPA proposed to require persons that manufacture, import, or process, or intend to manufacture, import, or process...
On May 16, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated, through a direct final rule, significant new use rules (SNUR) for 55 chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN), including functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNT) (generic). EPA states that it determined that any use of the functionalized CNTs without the use of impervious gloves, where there is potential for dermal exposure; manufacturing the PMN substance for use other than as a thin...
On May 11, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Compliance (OC) and Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) issued a memorandum to its regional Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Division Directors and Branch Chiefs to establish a joint position of OC and OPP “for how regions should respond to requests for EPA-issued Certificates of Establishment (COEs) and Certificates of Origin (COOs).” OC and OPP state that the need for a joint position is...
May 11, 2016
EPA OPP Director Announces Selection of Anna Lowit for the Senior Science Advisor Position
On May 9, 2016, Jack Housenger, Director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), announced the selection of Anna Lowit for the Senior Science Advisor Position in OPP’s Immediate Office. Lowit has been a toxicologist in OPP’s Health Effects Division since 1998. Housenger’s announcement of Lowit’s selection notes that she has “provided expert technical advice and guidance to senior management on issues related to toxicity testing, human...
On April 29, 2016, Australia’s National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) published the third consultation paper on its reform initiative. Under the reforms, the requirements to establish that a new chemical can be classified as being not hazardous to human health or the environment, and therefore falls in Hazard Band A, include consideration of several factors, including whether the chemical is a nanomaterial. The consultation paper states that the risk...
On April 29, 2016, Australia's National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) published the third consultation paper on its reform initiative. See https://www.nicnas.gov.au/about-nicnas/nicnas-reforms/consultation-paper-3 and https://www.nicnas.gov.au/about-nicnas/nicnas-reforms Under the reforms, the requirements to establish that a new chemical can be classified as being not hazardous to human health or the environment, and therefore falls in Hazard...
On May 11, 2016, the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) will hold a webinar for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) that will focus on the experiences, successes, and challenges for SMEs working in nanotechnology and on issues of interest to the business community. The National Science Foundation’s Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing, at Northeastern University’s College of Engineering in Boston, will host the webinar. Speakers include:...
On May 3, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule that amends current pesticide tolerance crop grouping (Crop Group) regulations. Crop groupings allow petitioners to request a tolerance for multiple related commodities based on research data for one or more representative crops. This final rule is the fourth amendment in a series of planned Crop Group updates begun in December 2007 through collaboration by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s...
On May 11, 2016, the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) will hold a webinar for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) that will focus on the experiences, successes, and challenges for SMEs working in nanotechnology and on issues of interest to the business community. See http://www.nano.gov/node/160 The National Science Foundation's Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing, at Northeastern University's College of Engineering in Boston, will host the webinar.
On April 26, 2016, a group of non-governmental organizations (NGO), consumer groups, and research organizations issued a press release expressing “disappointment with the European Commission’s [(EC)] continuing failure to propose adequate measures for the collection and publication of information about nanomaterials on the [European Union (EU)] market after a Commission meeting with stakeholders in Brussels on Monday.” The press release criticizes the EC for deciding against an...
Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. was pleased to offer a complimentary webinar, “2016 Chemical Data Reporting: Don’t Despair; Get Prepared!”, that included a review of the CDR reporting elements, a highlight of changes that will come into play for 2016, and some practical tips on how to get prepared. The webinar was presented on May 3, 2016, from 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (EDT), and consisted of 45 minutes of presentation, followed by a 15 minute Q&A period. For a...
The European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limits (SCOEL) met on March 7-9, 2016. The meeting minutes include the following summary regarding SCOEL’s discussion of nanomaterials: Several chemical agents proposed or envisaged to be addressed by SCOEL do concern or also concern the form as nanomaterial. SCOEL identified a group of scientists to organise a workshop or expert meeting in order to prepare for dealing with the subject in specific and take...
On May 2, 2016, Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report published “EPA Expands Regions’ Chemical Management Role,” featuring comments from B&C Managing Partner Lynn L. Bergeson and B&C affiliate Charles Auer. The article discussed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) April 29, 2016 action to manage certain chemicals and related issues more than they traditionally have done. […]“The new regional role is a significant change as the regions did not...
Firm clients and friends with interests in perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), and other perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) are likely aware that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to issue by mid-May or so new guidance on safe drinking water levels for these chemicals. As EPA and a handful of states continue to address elevated levels of lead in drinking water, EPA Administrator McCarthy has made clear in various meetings over the past...