Articles

Concerns about microplastics and their effect on human and environmental health continue to expand. On April 6, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) elevated the issue in a way that makes it harder for the regulated community to address microplastics as a matter of academic or speculative concern. EPA proposed to add microplastics, for the first time, as a priority contaminant group on the Drinking Water...

In July, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published the Trump Administration’s 2026 Unified Agenda. This article covers covers the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Unified Agenda rulemakings regarding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

There are some who maintain that Republican administrations do not prioritise the enforcement of US environmental laws and tend to give industry a pass on regulatory compliance, except in the most egregious cases. This view was likely reinforced by several core themes of candidate Trump’s campaign, which assailed "job-killing" regulations that burden American businesses and hurt the economy, coupled with President Trump’s day one executive orders, which included an immediate freeze on new...

There is a mistaken perception that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is not aggressively enforcing U.S. chemical laws. It is. EPA announced on June 1, 2026, that it filed an administrative complaint against Wego Chemical Group and related companies (Wego) for violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). If EPA seeks maximum penalties, it could yield a whopping $34 million penalty. The complaint, and others like it, reflect the agency’s commitment to...

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...

This year has seen a significant increase in legislative, regulatory and policy initiatives involving microplastics. This momentum suggests more regulatory activity moving forward for quite some time, although in ways that are not always clear or predictable. 

On July 18, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rolled out the “reorganization plan” for its Office of Research and Development (ORD). The plan’s stated goal is to reduce budget expenditures, improve science, and have EPA’s research activities better support the work of EPA’s media offices. The EPA press release refers to the reorganization effort as a continuation of “comprehensive restructuring” that includes a reduction in force (RIF) for the ORD and a...

Some truths transcend politics, one being that chemical data holds enduring value and is becoming increasingly essential. In the United States, regardless of which party federally controls the levers of power, it's clear that chemical manufacturers and their customers must develop and curate robust data portfolios for their chemical inventories. The commercial imperatives driving this are undeniable and gaining traction.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) announced recently that it will postpone the Jan. 1, 2026, reporting deadline on products containing intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This is welcome news for businesses that were frantically preparing for the fast-approaching deadline. This column explains the state’s PFAS reporting rule, and summarizes the current, fluid state of play in this state’s evolving PFAS program.

In partial response to President Trump’s Feb. 13, 2025, Executive Order (EO) 14212, “Establishing The President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission,” the White House issued on May 22, 2025, “The MAHA Report” (with MAHA an acronym for Make America Healthy Again), titled “Make Our Children Healthy Again: Assessment.” If you have not read it, you should, as it raises, but does not answer, interesting questions for manufacturers of all stripes, especially those whose products...

On April 28, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) outlined upcoming agency action to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). According to EPA’s much anticipated announcement, “[i]n line with Administrator Zeldin’s Powering the Great American Comeback initiative, EPA’s work in this space will advance Pillar 1: Clean Air, Land, and Water for Every American, and Pillar 3: Permitting Reform, Cooperative Federalism, and Cross-Agency Partnership.”