Articles

“On November 24, 2014, the European Parliament (EP) Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) considered draft legislation concerning novel foods. See http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/content/20141125IPR80424/html/Novel-foods-MEPs-call-for-moratorium-on-nano-foods-and-labelling-of-cloned-meat. The Committee amended the draft legislation, proposing a moratorium on the use of nanomaterials in food based on the precautionary principle. The Committee...

“On September 16, 2014, EPA released its Final 2012 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan (Final 2012 Plan) and the Preliminary 2014 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan (Preliminary 2014 Plan) under the Clean Water Act (CWA). These are important plans as they telegraph EPA’s plans for developing effluent guidelines for targeted industries. This article discusses EPA’s current plans.”...

The European Parliament (EP) Committee on Environment, Public Health, and Food Safety (ENVI) has posted a study entitled ENVI Relevant Legislative Areas of the EU-US Trade and Investment Partnership Negotiations (TTIP). See http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=IPOL_STU(2014)536293. The study analyzes the main differences between European Union (EU) and U.S. legislation in eight areas: human medicines and medical devices; cosmetics; food and nutrition; sanitary...

On October 1, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a significant new use rule (SNUR) for 15 related chemical substances commonly known as nonylphenols (NP) and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE). These substances are recognized as persistent and toxic in the environment. This article discusses this important move....

Chemicals play a central role in our personal and professional lives. As consumers, we focus keenly on the chemicals in the products we use and with which we come into contact. Globalization and the emergence worldwide of sophisticated chemical management programs invite complex legal, commercial, and scientific challenges. These challenges extend far beyond compliance questions that, by comparison, seem now nostalgically straightforward. Understanding these programs and their evolution can only...

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the May 19, 2014, Federal Register an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to seek comment on the information that should be reported or disclosed for hydraulic fracturing chemical substances and mixtures and the mechanism for obtaining this information. According to EPA, this mechanism could be regulatory (under Sections 8(a) and/or 8(d) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)), voluntary, or a combination...

On Aug. 25, 2014, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a proposed rule seeking to harmonize the hazardous materials regulations (HMR) with international regulations and standards. The rule would revise proper shipping names, hazard classes, packing groups, special provisions, packaging authorizations, air transport quantity limitations and vessel stowage requirements....

Synthetic biology is delivering on its promise as an emerging scientific field in providing society with effective new sustainable products in diverse areas including renewable energy, contamination remediation, and medical applications, among others. As is the case with any rapidly evolving technology, the pace of technological innovation challenges regulators’ ability to identify and address adequately the substantial uncertainties they confront when discharging their legal obligations under...

On July 31, 2014, EPA published a Request for Information (RFI) seeking information and data on potential revisions to its Clean Air Act (CAA) Risk Management Program (RMP) regulations and related programs. In the RFI, EPA asks for information on specific regulatory elements and on Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Process Safety Management (PSM) approaches, the public and environmental health and safety risks they address, and the costs and burdens they may impose. This...

On August 9, 2014, Canada published a proposal for adopting the Globally Harmonized System for Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). GHS compliance is a big issue for just about all manufacturers, and understanding the approach of our neighbor to the north is important. This column summarizes the highlights....