On December 2, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published an updated New Approach Methods (NAM) Work Plan (Updated Work Plan). EPA created the work plan to prioritize its efforts and resources toward activities that aim to reduce the use of vertebrate animal testing while continuing to protect human health and the environment. EPA describes its updated roadmap and identifies steps intended to reduce the use of vertebrate animals for toxicity testing and related research...
Category: PFAS
On December 7, 2021, the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittees on Environment and on Research and Technology held a joint hearing entitled “Forever Chemicals: Research and Development for Addressing the PFAS Problem.” Four witnesses spoke before the subcommittees on their respective knowledge of the current state of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and where each felt future actions should be focused: Dr. Elsie Sunderland, Gordon McKay Professor of...
November 23, 2021
Lynn L. Bergeson and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Quoted by Chemical Watch in “TSCA approach for addressing abandoned PFASs may invite criticism”
On November 23, 2021, Chemical Watch featured comments by Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, B&C, regarding a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plan to use Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) significant new use rules (SNUR) to address inactive per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). “The Snur authority is a de facto bar to manufacture/import,”...
November 12, 2021
Infrastructure Bill Includes Provisions Important to Chemical and Agriculture Sectors
On November 8, 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684) was presented to President Joseph Biden (D) for signature. The House passed the bill on November 5, 2021, by a vote of 228 to 206, and the Senate passed the bill on August 10, 2021, by a vote of 69 to 30. The bill contains many important provisions. We highlight below some of the provisions in the 1,039-page bill that we believe our clients and...
November 12, 2021
James V. Aidala Quoted in Inside TSCA Article “Former Official Says PFAS Patchwork Shows Failures Of TSCA Preemption”
On November 11, 2021, James V. Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was quoted by Inside EPA’s Inside TSCA regarding state regulations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). A former EPA toxics chief says Michigan’s new executive order limiting purchases of products made with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) not only expands a nationwide patchwork of state-level PFAS policies, but shows that the reformed...
November 9, 2021
Chemical Watch Article “Stakeholders see room for improvement in US EPA’s PFAS categorization” Features Comments by Richard E. Engler, Ph.D.
On November 9, 2021, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was quoted by Chemical Watch regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) classification of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) for company-funded testing under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). According to Richard Engler, director of chemistry for law firm Bergeson & Campbell, the agency has “come down somewhere in the...
October 28, 2021
House Committee Holds Hearing on “TSCA and Public Health: Fulfilling the Promise of the Lautenberg Act”
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change held a hearing on October 27, 2021, on “TSCA and Public Health: Fulfilling the Promise of the Lautenberg Act.” The October 25, 2021, briefing memorandum notes that the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (the Lautenberg Act) comprehensively amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), “including key reforms to increase [the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)]...
October 21, 2021
Senate Committee Holds Hearing on “Evaluating the Federal Response to the Persistence and Impacts of PFAS Chemicals on our Environment”
On October 20, 2021, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on “Evaluating the Federal Response to the Persistence and Impacts of PFAS Chemicals on our Environment.” The sole witness called before the Committee was the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water, Radhika Fox. The focus of the hearing was to address the recently released EPA Strategic Roadmap for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)....
October 19, 2021
Biden Administration Announces Multi-Agency Plan to Confront PFAS Pollution; EPA Releases Strategic Roadmap
On October 18, 2021, the Biden Administration announced a multi-agency plan to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination nationwide. According to the White House, agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Defense (DOD), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), will take actions to...
September 22, 2021
PFAS Reporting Rules Webinar Recording and Q&A Document Available Now*
Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is pleased to offer the recording, slides, and written Question and Answer (Q&A) document from our “PFAS Reporting Rules — What Every Company Needs to Know” webinar, focusing on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed reporting rules for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), presented by B&C Managing Partner Lynn L. Bergeson and Director of Chemistry Richard E. Engler, Ph.D. Do you wonder if the...