December 6, 2011

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., “US Environmental Protection Agency Grants First Approval for Nanopesticide,” Nanotechnology Industries Association Newsletter, December 6, 2011.

According to the press release “EPA Announces Conditional Registration of Nanosilver Pesticide Product” published by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the 1st of December 2011, the EPA granted a four-year conditional approval for a pesticide containing a nanomaterial. The pesticide contains the active ingredient nanosilver, known to have antimicrobial properties.
December 1, 2011

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Identifying Priority Chemicals Under TSCA,” Pollution Engineering, December 2011.

On Aug. 18, 2011, EPA rolled out its new approach for identifying priority chemicals for review and assessment under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA invited public input on its Discussion Guide: Background and Discussion Questions for Identifying Priority Chemicals for Review and Assessment (Discussion Guide), which is available at www.epa.gov/opptintr/existingchemicals/pubs/chempridiscguide.html, and convened a webinar on Sept. 7, 2011 to review the document.
December 1, 2011

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Registers Nanosilver As Active Ingredient,” Chemical Processing, December 2011.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on December 1, 2011, that it granted a conditional registration for a pesticide product containing nanosilver as a new active ingredient. This is a momentous regulatory decision and very good news for supporters of nanopesticides.
December 1, 2011

James V. Aidala, Co-Author, “TSCA Reform:  The Standard of Safety,” Environmental Law Reporter News & Analysis, December 2011.

Several key issues have emerged as pivotal in ongoing efforts to reform TSCA. Progress on these complex issues is central to the success of TSCA reform. On July 21, 2011, ELI convened a panel of experts to examine the central issue of whether and what standard of safety should replace TSCA’s current “unreasonable risk” standard for regulating chemicals. Topics addressed included: hazard/exposure/risk criteria; burden of proof; judicial review of Agency decisions; sensitive populations;...
November 1, 2011

Lynn L. Bergeson, “A Special Report: Important Changes Are Made to the Chemical Data Reporting Rule,” Manufacturing Today, Fall/Winter 2011.

On August 16, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the final Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) Rule, previously referred to as the Inventory Update Reporting (IUR) Modifications Rule. The CDR Rule expands the IUR to enable EPA to collect information on the manufacturing (including importing), processing, and use of commercial chemical sub­ stances and mixtures on the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory (Inventory). This article provides...
October 1, 2011

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Issues Final Weight-of-Evidence Guidance,” Chemical Processing, October 2011.

On September 28, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its final guidance on the weight-of-evidence (WoE) analysis it will use to evaluate the results of data submitted in response to test orders issued for Tier 1 screening under the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP). What follows is a brief overview of the Final WoE Guidance, which is available at http://www.regulations.gov.
September 12, 2011

Lisa R. Burchi, Charles M. Auer, and Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA’s SNUR Authority and Key Points Regarding SNURs for Former New Chemicals,” BNA Daily Environment Report, September 12, 2011.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s use of its authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act is expanding. Its use of TSCA Section 5 ‘‘significant new use rule’’ (SNUR) authority is clearly on the increase, as most recently demonstrated by the important role that significant new use rules have in Chemical Action Plans. This article describes SNURs, their issuance and legal background, and a few key issues of which regulated entities need to be aware in responding to a...