Articles

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) Safer Consumer Products Regulations are now in effect (See "California Cracks Down on Chemicals"). While the most onerous requirements for "responsible entities" (manufacturers, importers, assemblers and retailers) will not hit for a while, companies should consider taking some initial steps now to understand how these regulations may affect operations in the future.

The application of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to biobased chemicals is sometimes overlooked, given the enthusiasm supporting the commercialization of biobased products. This “Washington Watch” article explains TSCA’s application to these products and outlines strategies to ensure the successful marketing of biobased chemical products.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted on September 30, 2013, a final report entitled Comprehensive Environmental Assessment Applied to Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Flame-Retardant Coatings in Upholstery Textiles: A Case Study Presenting Priority Research Gaps for Future Risk Assessments.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted on September 30, 2013, a final report entitled Comprehensive Environmental Assessment Applied to Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Flame-Retardant Coatings in Upholstery Textiles: A Case Study Presenting Priority Research Gaps for Future Risk Assessments.

On Aug. 1, 2013, President Barack Obama issued Executive Order (EO) 13650, ordering federal agencies to review safety rules at chemical facilities in response to the April explosion at the West Fertilizer Co., in West, Texas. The order, Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security, seeks to close gaps in the regulation of facilities that the government believes contributed to the fatal accident. Here is a summary of that order.

Throughout 2013, the issue of the contribution of pesticide use to the decline in honeybee colony health, known as colony collapse disorder (CCD), has been increasingly controversial. Of particular concern is the role that a particular class of pesticides, known as neonicotinoids, may play in CCD. While EPA generally maintains its view that pesticides, including the neonicotinoids, are one of many factors in contributing to CCD, in July 2013, it took steps to control more stringently the foliar...

On September 20, 2013, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) published a Federal Register notice requesting information on 20 substances, mixtures, and exposure circumstances, including nickel nanoparticles, nominated for possible review for future editions of the Report on Carcinogens (RoC).

On August 23, 2013, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released changes to the near final Safer Consumer Products Regulations (SCPR). These game-changing regulations took effect October 1, 2013. This column broadly outlines the rule and summarizes the changes.

Despite 40 years of policy tinkering and lawsuits, there is still major disagreement over the scope of the Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction today. A series of conflicting lower court decisions led the Supreme Court to twice address the definition of “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) with respect to wetlands policy. In 2011 the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decided to incorporate all of the Justices’ opinions in sweeping, new draft guidance that would greatly increase the number and...

On June 14, 2013, the EPA proposed revisions to the Renewable Fuel Standard. The amendments seek to clear up some fuel classifications to ease the burden on the industry. The proposal would allow use of biogas from landfills to meet the obligations imposed on refiners and importers to utilize renewable feedstocks in transportation fuels; also, it clarifies the renewable biofuels that can be categorized as cellulosic biofuels. This article discusses the revisions.

On August 27, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its proposed decision to register "Nanosilva," a nanosilver-containing antimicrobial pesticide product.

As one of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy’s first official acts, on July 23, 2013, the Administrator signed a final rule easing the requirements under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for solvent-contaminated rags and wipes. The rule has been long in the making and much anticipated.

This article presents the results of a January 2013 workshop convened at the California NanoSystems Institute of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and hosted by the University of California Center for the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology, as well as the UCLA Center for Nanobiology and Predictive Toxicology. Using carbon nanotubes as a case study, national and international leaders from government, industry, and academia discussed the utility of alternative test...

On August 7, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated significant new use rules (SNUR) through a direct final rule for 53 chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN), including two PMN substances whose reported chemical names include the term "carbon nanotube" (CNT).

While regulators are generally supportive of new chemistries that can replace older, petroleum-based ones, biobased chemicals are subject to the same Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that governs every other chemical substance in the United States. Surprisingly, biobased chemicals that are considered to be “new chemicals” may actually receive more scrutiny under this law than established chemicals do. The following article provides practical information about the TSCA provisions that are...

Renewable chemicals are emerging at a fast pace, paving the way for new, innovative, and sustainable biobased products. The renewable chemicals’ market is estimated to reach $83.4 billion by 2018 in applications ranging from transportation and agriculture to textiles and cosmetics. In addition to all the elements great companies need to succeed -- a great product, a great brand, inspiring leadership, and vision -- biobased product companies need to understand how the U.S. Environmental...

Senators David Vitter (R-LA) and the late Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced S. 1009, the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA), in May 2013. The CSIA provides a new approach to Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform that, to date, has met with broad stakeholder approval. Highlights of the draft bill are below.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) published a notice in the July 30, 2013, Federal Register announcing that, following receipt of a letter from the United States Trade Representative (USTR), it instituted investigation No. 332-541, "Trade Barriers that U.S. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Perceive as Affecting Exports to the European Union."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a fact sheet (www.epa.gov/oppt/newchems/pubs/isotopes.pdf) on reporting chemical substances that contain different isotopes of the same elements listed on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory. The document has enforcement consequences, so stakeholders should review it carefully. This column explains its significance. 

As with many countries, Korea is pursuing a chemicals management approach that ensures substances being placed on its market are assessed for risk potential based on its use patterns while placing the burden of safe use on chemical businesses.