All Knowledge & Insights By Date

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on December 27, 2022, the availability of the final revision to the risk determination for the carbon tetrachloride risk evaluation issued under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 87 Fed. Reg. 79303. EPA determined that carbon tetrachloride, as a whole chemical substance, presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health when evaluated under its conditions of use (COU). EPA states that the revision to the risk...

On December 20, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requested public comment on its Guides for the Use of Environmental Claims (Green Guides). FTC intends the Green Guides to help marketers avoid making environmental marketing claims that are unfair or deceptive under Section 5 of the FTC Act. 87 Fed. Reg. 77766. FTC states in its December 14, 2022, news release that it seeks to update the Green Guides “based on increasing consumer interest in buying...

As reported in our October 19, 2021, blog item, in 2021, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) released a scientific guide to assess the risks posed by nanomaterials in food. On December 16, 2022, ANSES announced that the methodology has been “tested” on the food additive E171, titanium dioxide. ANSES states that the test has “confirmed the relevance of [its] methodology and the need for a nanospecific approach.” According to...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on December 21, 2022, that it seeks public nominations of scientific and technical experts whom EPA can consider for service as ad hoc reviewers assisting the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) with the peer review of two draft documents entitled “Draft Proposed Principles of Cumulative Risk Assessment Under the Toxic Substances Control Act” and “Draft Proposed Approach for Cumulative Risk Assessment of...

The Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS) posted a news item on December 19, 2022, reminding assessment certificate applicants that extra information is required for chemicals at the nanoscale. AICIS has published extra guidance on the data concerning the nanoscale-specific physicochemical properties that must be provided. AICIS states that nanoscale means a particle size range of one to 100 nanometers (nm). An introduction at the nanoscale is a...

On December 15, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a redesign and updates to the statistics web page for the New Chemicals Review Program. According to EPA, the update includes additional information and metrics on the Agency’s review of new chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), increasing transparency for the public, the regulated community, and other stakeholders. According to EPA, before TSCA was amended in 2016 by the...

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on December 14, 2022, that it is seeking public comment on potential updates and changes to the Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (Green Guides). FTC intends the Green Guides to help marketers avoid making environmental marketing claims that are unfair or deceptive under Section 5 of the FTC Act. FTC states that it seeks to update the Green Guides “based on increasing consumer interest in buying environmentally...

On October 14, 2020, the European Commission adopted the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. The Strategy set into motion a series of remarkable actions by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) intended to transform the European Union (EU) into a sustainable and carbon neutral economy while improving protection of its people and the environment. The Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and the Classification, Labeling and Packaging (CLP)...

On Nov. 16, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a supplemental proposal modifying its 2021 proposed rule that would amend the 2018 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) fees rule. The EPA’s assistant administrator warned us to be prepared for sticker shock. The proposed increases are significant. This article discusses what you need to know.

When the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was enacted in 1976, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) focused its attention on chemical substances and chemical mixtures, while largely exempting the regulation of chemicals in “articles,” generally meaning finished products or manufactured goods. EPA’s more recent announcement of its intent to regulate chemicals in articles to a much greater extent has caught many in the regulated industries off guard and reflects a significant...

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) will hold a virtual public meeting on January 10, 2023, on the chemicals under consideration for listing as Chemicals of Concern (COC) and High Priority Chemicals (HPC) for the Toxic Chemicals in Children’s Products (TCCP) program. NYS DEC will present an overview of the enacted TCCP law and discuss the chemicals under consideration for listing as COCs and HPCs that manufacturers will be required to report if present in...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office’s (BETO) Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium (ChemCatBio) will hold a webinar on December 14, 2022, on what is ahead for the consortium. From 2020 to 2022, ChemCatBio’s research and development (R&D) focus was on improving carbon efficiency during catalytic conversion to drive down minimum fuel selling price. ChemCatBio states that now, with three more years of...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) has postponed the webinar originally scheduled for December 13, 2022, on the “SAF Grand Challenge Roadmap: Soaring Towards Sustainable Fuel Production Goals.” According to BETO, the webinar will take place in early 2023. As reported in our November 29, 2022, blog item, the webinar will cover the six action areas that support the Grand Challenge’s goals of:...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on November 30, 2020, that it is inviting small businesses, governments, and not-for-profits to participate as Small Entity Representatives (SER) to provide advice and recommendations to two Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) Panels.  One Panel will focus on EPA’s development of a proposed rule to address unreasonable risks identified in EPA’s recently completed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk evaluation for...

On December 2, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN) and are also subject to Orders issued by EPA pursuant to TSCA. 87 Fed. Reg. 74072. The SNURs require persons who intend to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or process any of these chemical substances for an activity that is proposed as a...

Download transcript. This week, Dr. Richard E. Engler, Director of Chemistry for B&C and The Acta Group, our consulting affiliate, returned to the studio to discuss the stubbornly vexatious problem of TSCA’s regulation of articles, a fancy name for products or finished goods. Most listeners to the podcast appreciate that this U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administration has specifically applied TSCA regulations to articles far more than in decades past. This policy pivot...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on December 7, 2022, that the final video recording, slide deck, and case study worksheets from the CompTox Chemicals Dashboard virtual training are now available. EPA also announced that the Dashboard recently released a new version (v2.1.1). New features include: A new link to an updated set of Help Pages containing new information; Ability to visualize structures in Batch Search; Ability to filter out...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   Under the Reports Consolidation Act of 2000, each agency’s inspector general must prepare an annual statement summarizing what the inspector general considers to be “the most serious management and performance challenges facing the agency” and to assess briefly the agency’s progress in addressing those challenges. On November 29, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released...