Articles

On April 30, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Design for the Environment (DfE) announced the availability of the final report entitled Application of Life-Cycle Assessment to Nanoscale Technology: Lithium-ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles....

President Obama won a decisive victory on November 6, 2012, and the forecast for the next four years is clearer now than it was pre-election. This Washington Watch column offers some preliminary observations on what lies ahead for domestic environmental management issues at the legislative and regulatory levels....

On Feb. 7, 2013, EPA proposed 2013 renewable fuel standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel and total renewable fuels that apply to all gasoline and diesel produced or imported in year 2013. (78 Fed. Reg. 9282.) The proposal would require producers, importers and distributors of gasoline and diesel to add larger proportions of renewable fuel to their fuel products. EPA has also proposed, in a separate rulemaking signed on Jan. 31, 2013, an...

On February 21, 2013, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a landmark decision in Dow Agrosciences v. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). It set aside a Biological Opinion (BiOp) prepared by the NMFS that found use of pesticides chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and malathion could jeopardize certain species of salmon and their habitat. The decision will have significant implications for the government and pesticide registrants alike. Here’s why....

On Dec. 20, 2012, EPA issued a much-anticipated rulemaking package revising the emission standards for commercial and industrial solid waste incineration units (CISWI). The final rule accomplishes two broad goals: it revises the Clean Air Act (CAA) emission limits for CISWIs, and it revises the definition under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of nonhazardous secondary material (NHSM). This column discusses the CAA aspects of the rule. More information regarding the adjustments for...

On February 21, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a new approach to assure compliance with renewable fuel volume standards and minimize fraud. The proposal offers an alternative voluntary quality assurance program (QAP) to combat fraudulently procured Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), which have been the source of problems in the past. Comments on the proposal are due April 18, 2013. This column explains the proposal and why a new option is needed....

On March 11, 2013, at the annual meeting of the Society of Toxicology, researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reported preliminary findings from a new laboratory study in which mice were exposed by inhalation to multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT)....

On February 21, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a new approach to assure compliance with renewable fuel volume standards and minimize fraud. The proposal offers an alternative voluntary quality assurance program (QAP) to combat fraudulently procured Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), which have been the source of problems in the past. Comments on the proposal are due April 18, 2013. This column explains the proposal and why a new option is needed....

The U.S. EPA announced on January 4, 2013, the first draft risk assessments developed under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan. This is an important development of which PE readers should be familiar....

Manufacturers working with nanoscale materials will be pleased to know that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently published a fact sheet entitled “Working Safely with Nanomaterials“. This document is a welcome addition to the widely available literature on managing prudently workplace exposures to nanomaterials....

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) resources are not expected to be robust. This will translate to further reductions in its operating programs such as the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), and eventually (if not already) will translate into personnel, skills-mix and salary impacts. This will hinder the ability of both OCSPP programs – Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) and Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) – to review submissions in...

On November 27, 2012, EPA released The EDSP Universe of Chemicals and General Validation Principles, as well as the list of approximately 10,000 chemicals. This article explains the document and its implications....

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on January 4, 2013, the first draft risk assessments developed under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan. This article explains why these assessments are important....

Since President Obama won on November 6, the forecast for Pollution Engineering readers is a bit clearer. Below are preliminary observations on what lies ahead regarding environmental issues at the legislative and regulatory levels....

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (CDTSC) is one step closer to implementing the state’s Green Chemistry Initiative (GCI), which directs regulators to evaluate safer alternatives to chemicals that are believed to be toxic. These are not “garden variety” chemical regulations that impose a restriction here or there to prevent a perceived risk. Far from it. These regulations are game-changers. They ultimately will transform the way manufacturers select raw materials and...

On December 3, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continued its use of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to regulate products (not just chemicals) in publishing a final rule adding cadmium and cadmium compounds to the TSCA Section 8(d) rule. In so doing, manufacturers and importers of cadmium must submit unpublished health and safety studies to the EPA (including use in materials that have been or are “reasonably likely” to be incorporated into...

Barack Obama won a decisive victory in the presidential election on 6 November and the forecast for the next four years is clearer now than it was pre-election. This article offers some preliminary observations on what lies ahead regarding domestic chemical management issues at the legislative and regulatory levels....

The European Union in recent years has promulgated new regulations to set forth the procedures by which pesticides (called biocides and plant protectants in the EU) are registered and how companies can address issues related to the citation and compensation of data submitted that support those pesticide registrations. Canada also recently issued regulations setting forth new requirements on how data used to support a pesticide registration are protected. This article provides a broad overview of...

It is entirely appropriate to consider how REACH may influence reconsideration of the U.S. chemical regulatory environment, and the report provides some critical insights. But REACH is not the only consideration — Canada’s Chemical Management Plan should be considered as well. Further, REACH should be considered from a practitioner’s, not an academic’s, perspective to learn lessons relevant to U.S. chemicals management ...

On August 15, 2012, EPA issued proposed amendments to the significant new use rule (SNUR) for perfluoroalkyl sulfonate (PFAS) chemical substances to add seven PFAS chemical substances that have completed the new chemical review process under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA has not yet commenced production or import, and to designate (for all listed PFAS chemical substances) “processing” as a significant new use. The agency is also proposing a SNUR for long-chain perfluoroalkyl...