The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) announced on March 15, 2021, that it has begun a public consultation on a draft updated Guidance on the assessment of exposure of operators, workers, residents, and bystanders in risk assessment for plant protection products (PPP). According to EFSA, the Guidance is designed to assist risk assessors and applicants when quantifying potential non-dietary, systemic exposures as part of the regulatory risk assessment for PPPs. The Guidance is based on...
Category: Risk Assessment Issues
On March 5, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that “in support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to making evidence-based decisions to protect human health, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking an important step by proposing the cancellation of the registration of pentachlorophenol.” Pentachlorophenol, a well-recognized wood preservative in use for decades, is registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act...
On March 5, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that “[i]n support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to making evidence-based decisions to protect human health, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking an important step by proposing the cancellation of the registration of pentachlorophenol.” Pentachlorophenol, a well-recognized wood preservative in use for decades, is registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and...
The Verband der Mineralfarbenindustrie e. V. (VdMi), which represents German manufacturers of inorganic, organic, and metallic pigments, fillers, carbon black, ceramic and glass colors, food colorants, artists’ and school paints, masterbatches, and products for applied photocatalysis, has published a “Comparative Compilation of relevant nano definitions in different regulations and their corresponding consequences.” The compilation notes that pigments and fillers often fall under the...
On February 19, 2021, the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) published a Nanopinion entitled “eREACHNano helps you to register nanoforms under REACH” by Dorte Rasmussen, Ph.D., who has been working on the exposure and risk assessment of chemicals at DHI A/S for almost 25 years. Rasmussen describes eREACHNano, a tool developed to explain Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation requirements for nanoforms. ...
February 19, 2021
OECD Publishes Developments on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials in Tour de Table
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published the latest edition of the Developments in Delegations on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials — Tour de Table. The Tour de Table compiles information provided by delegations on the occasion of the 20th meeting of the OECD Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) in September 2020. Below are highlights from the Tour de Table: Canada: Canada is developing a nanomaterial...
On February 1, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana granted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) January 31, 2021, unopposed motion to vacate and remand its January 6, 2021, final rule on “Strengthening Transparency in Pivotal Science Underlying Significant Regulatory Actions and Influential Scientific Information” (86 Fed. Reg. 469). EDF v. EPA, No. 4:21-cv-03-BMM. On January 11, 2021, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Montana...
January 26, 2021
Comments by Lynn L. Bergeson Featured in Chemical Watch “Global Outlook 2021: Risk assessment and management under TSCA – what should we expect?”
Chemical Watch’s “Global Outlook 2021: Risk assessment and management under TSCA – what should we expect?” includes a conversation between Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and Terry Hyland, North America Managing Editor, Chemical Watch, regarding what to expect from the Biden Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2021. Excerpts from the article are below. New challenges also lie ahead for the EPA,...
January 12, 2021
SCCS Opinion on the Safety of Nanomaterials in Cosmetics Includes Prioritized List of Nanomaterials for Risk Assessment
On January 11, 2021, the European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) posted a final opinion entitled Scientific Advice on the Safety of Nanomaterials in Cosmetics. The EC requested that SCCS determine the nanomaterials, as published in the 2019 catalogue of nanomaterials, for which specific concerns can be identified and justified to establish a priority list of nanomaterials for risk assessment (Article 16(4) Reg. 1223/2009). The final opinion...
December 29, 2020
OECD Publishes Report on Moving toward a Safe(r) Innovation Approach for More Sustainable Nanomaterials and Nano-Enabled Products
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published a report entitled Moving Towards a Safe(r) Innovation Approach (SIA) for More Sustainable Nanomaterials and Nano-enabled Products. According to the Executive Summary, the report “presents common working descriptions to ensure a common understanding of concepts such as: Safe(r) Innovation Approach and its elements, Safe(r)-by-Design and Regulatory Preparedness.” The report compiles existing risk...