All Knowledge & Insights By Date

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 15, 2023, that it issued the third Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) test order requiring testing on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under EPA’s National PFAS Testing Strategy. EPA has ordered the Chemours Company FC LLC, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, and 3M Company to conduct and submit testing on 2,3,3,3-Tetrafluoro-2-(heptafluoropropoxy)propanoyl fluoride (HFPO-DAF), “a substance used as...

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...

On August 3, 2023, the Joint Subcommittee on Environment, Innovation, and Public Health Sustainable Chemistry Strategy Team (Sustainable Chemistry ST) of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) published a report entitled Sustainable Chemistry Report: Framing the Federal Landscape. As reported in our January 19, 2021, memorandum, the fiscal year (FY) 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) included the text of the bipartisan Sustainable Chemistry Research and...

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: Day 1: Presentation and demo: Wednesday, November 8, 2023, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. (EST); and Day 2: Expert-led hands-on learning activity: Thursday, November 9, 2023, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. (EST). According to EPA, toxicokinetics (TK) provides a bridge between toxicity and exposure assessment by...

On August 15, 2023, the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) published a Nanopinion entitled “Nanocrystals Coating by Friction. A New Approach for Advanced Materials” by Dr. Bentejui Medina-Clavijo, Senior Fellow at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and Professor Andrey Chuvilin, head of the Electron Microscopy Laboratory at nanoGUNE. According to the authors, it has been found that friction “can dramatically change the surface properties of a...

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: Day 1: Presentation and demo: Wednesday, November 8, 2023, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. (EST); and Day 2: Expert-led hands-on learning activity: Thursday, November 9, 2023, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. (EST). According to EPA, toxicokinetics (TK) provides a bridge between toxicity and exposure assessment by...

On July 27, 2023, the United Nations (UN) published an electronic version of the tenth revision (Rev 10) of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) available for free for consultation purposes. The amendments to the ninth revision of the GHS (Rev 9) include the classification procedure for desensitized explosives (Chapter 2.17); the use of non-animal testing methods for classification of health hazards, in particular: skin corrosion/irritation...

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 Congressional Research Service (CRS) published an updated report on August 4, 2023, on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Sustainable, Ecological, Consistent, Uniform, Responsible, Efficient (SECURE) rule. The revisions note that USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) five-year Strategic Plan for fiscal years (FY) 2023-2027 states that “one of its objectives is to ensure the safe development of agricultural biotechnology products using a...

On August 23, 2023, Chemical Watch quoted Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) regarding a new enforcement effort announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) imposing liability for PFAS pollution that would target not only manufacturers, but also users of the persistent substances.  Lynn Bergeson, managing partner at Bergeson & Campbell, said: "What you don’t know may hurt you, so be PFAS-aware and...

Comments submitted by The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) New Chemicals Coalition (NCC) regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed regulations to control health risks from chemicals made with waste plastic were featured by Bloomberg in a August 23, 2023 article.  [o]ther trade groups told the EPA its rules “would hinder development of advanced recycling projects and progress towards a more circular plastics economy.” The heat generated through the molecular...

On August 22, 2023, Chemical Watch quoted Karin F. Baron, MSPH, Director of Hazard Communication and International Registration Strategy with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) regarding preparing for notification deadlines as Chile’s Ministry of Environment (MMA) is set to begin compiling a national inventory of chemicals from August next year. That includes determining which substances are considered hazardous and require...

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...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a webinar on September 6, 2023, on its new framework (the Framework) for addressing new per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and new uses of existing PFAS under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). According to EPA, the Framework outlines EPA’s planned approach when reviewing new PFAS and new uses of existing PFAS to ensure that, if allowed to enter into commerce, they will not be harmful to human...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 17, 2023, the release of the first set of data collected under the fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5). According to EPA, in the latest action to deliver on EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap, UCMR 5 will provide new data that will improve its understanding of the frequency that 29 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and lithium are found in U.S. drinking water systems, and at what levels. EPA states that...

The Independent Commodity Intelligence Services (ICIS) search for the very best in innovation in the chemical industry. The ICIS Innovation Awards are intended to recognize and reward companies paving the way in product, process, and digital innovations that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability. The awards were open to any company in the chemical industry that successfully executed innovative projects that solve problems and provide solutions for companies, their customers, and society, as...

Health Canada has begun a consultation on a proposal to introduce new requirements for consumer chemical products under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA). Health Canada states that many substances found in consumer chemical products, like household cleaning products, have been linked to human health hazards of concern (HHHOC) such as carcinogens, mutagens, and reproductive toxicants. The proposed new requirements include the introduction of classification criteria for...

On August 14, 2023, the United Kingdom’s (UK) Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) called for the submission of any scientific information relevant to the safety assessment of nanomaterials used in cosmetics. Article 16 of the UK Cosmetics Regulation requires that cosmetic products containing nanomaterials be notified to the Secretary of State at least six months prior to being placed on the market. These notifications may be completed via the Submit Cosmetic Product Notification...

TSCA/FIFRA/TRI EPA’s Spring 2023 Unified Agenda Includes TSCA, TRI, And PFAS Rulemakings: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) spring 2023 Unified Agenda, published on June 13, 2023, includes a number of proposed and final rulemakings under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) or the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), as well as rulemakings concerning per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). More information on the rulemakings, including links to our memoranda, is...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) spring 2023 Unified Agenda, published on June 13, 2023, includes the following rulemakings concerning per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Prerule and Proposed Rule Stage Addressing PFAS in the Environment (RIN: 2050-AH25): On October 18, 2021, EPA released its PFAS Strategic Roadmap, building on and accelerating implementation of existing plans to address PFAS and committing to new policies to address PFAS in the environment. EPA...