Articles

On April 6, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the draft of its sixth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), including, for the first time, microplastics as a priority contaminant group (91 Fed. Reg. 17186). This is yet another indication of how regulatory and litigation attention is increasingly focusing on microplastics. Industrial stakeholders need to be aware.

Stakeholders in the plastics industry are facing unique challenges as new laws, policies and public scrutiny reshape the regulatory landscape for plastic products, labeling and waste streams. Litigation can create resource burdens on defendants and impose economic hardship via litigation costs or declines in consumer trust stemming from the litigation — regardless of the outcome. Common claims in such suits include violations of environmental protection standards, public nuisance due to...

Despite the best efforts and good intentions of a broad community of chemical interests, including industry, nongovernmental organizations (NGO), and government entities, implementation of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), 15 U.S.C. §§ 2601–97, has been uneven for as long as memory serves. The many challenges in implementing TSCA after Congress first enacted it in 1976 are well documented. Its aspirational tone and lofty goals were matched only by its unique lack of specificity or a...

Chemical stakeholders have, over the decades, vigorously debated how best to balance the need for CBI protections with the public’s legitimate and increasing insistence that it has a right-to-know about chemicals to which people may be exposed. Stakeholders in the environmental and public health community seeking greater transparency are challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) implementation of TSCA’s Section 5 new chemicals program. The case illustrates new...

2026 will be a consequential year for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulation. Safer States released an analysis in February reporting on 2026 state chemical initiatives. According to the analysis, at least 15 major state laws and regulations are expected to take shape, including broad restrictions on PFAS. This column focuses on New Mexico's proposed rule implementing the Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Protection Act. What makes the New Mexico proposal so interesting...

Reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is a hot topic these days. The release in January of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment’s draft bill titled Discussion Draft of Legislation to Modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act (Discussion Draft) has inspired spirited debate. The Discussion Draft marks a notable milestone in Congress’s increasingly vocal promises to address perceived shortcomings in both the landmark 2016 amendments to TSCA and the U.S....

Each year, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., its global consulting affiliate The Acta Group, and consortia management affiliate B&C Consortia Management, L.L.C., prepare a summary overview of things to come in the new year. We are pleased to present our Forecast 2026. Our global team of chemical experts works hard each year to summarize our collective best guess on what to expect in the new year regarding global industrial, agricultural and biocidal chemical regulatory and policy initiatives....

On Nov. 13, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed revisions (90 Fed. Reg. 50923) to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a)(7) regulation for reporting and recordkeeping requirements for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This column summarizes the proposal and the reasons for it.

State and federal regulatory measures to address microplastics are flourishing. This trend is expected to continue in 2026. Provided in this article is an overview of microplastics regulatory and policy developments from 2025 to date.

On Sept. 23, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed highly anticipated amendments to the procedural framework rule for conducting existing chemical risk evaluations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). When conducting a TSCA existing chemical risk evaluation, EPA must determine whether a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, without considering costs or non-risk factors under the conditions of use (COU). As...