Late last December, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced action plans on phthalates, long-chain chlorinated paraffins (LCCPs), and short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs). The four action plans are the first of many, as EPA intends to issue eight more or so in 2010. This EPA initiative announces actions that are almost breathtaking in scope, and its development and implementation of the action plan items will set a number of new precedents —...
March 1, 2010
Lynn L. Bergeson, “Aligning Chemicals Labeling with Global Rules Involves Major Efforts,” Chemical Processing, March 2010.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) began the Herculean task of aligning the U.S.’s Hazardous Communication Standard (HCS) with the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) in September 2009. GHS provides harmonized criteria for classifying chemicals according to their health and physical hazards, and specifies hazard communication elements for labeling and creating safety data sheets (SDS)....
February 3, 2010
Lynn L. Bergeson, “Disclosure Protection May Narrow,” Chemical Processing, February 2010.
A business’ ability to claim information as confidential when submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may soon be at risk, based on several EPA initiatives rolled out over the past year. As Congress gears up for Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) legislative reform, stakeholders are preparing for changes in the scope of confidential business information (CBI) protection under TSCA....
February 1, 2010
Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Moves Closer to GHG Control,” Pollution Engineering, February 2010.
EPA has put itself on the path toward greenhouse gas regulation, but in Congress, the courts, and the international community, the debate rages on. On Dec. 7, 2009, EPA moved one step closer to imposing the first ever set of enforceable greenhouse gas (GHG) standards on tailpipe emissions from vehicles, and a requirement that large power plants and industrial emitters install best available control technology (BACT) to reduce emissions....
January 22, 2010
Lynn L. Bergeson, “OSHA Kicks Off the ‘Chemical NEP’,” Environmental Quarterly Management, Winter 2009.
With little fanfare, the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has rolled out its much anticipated “PSM Covered Chemical Facilities National Emphasis Program.” This one-year pilot program, launched in July 2009, focuses on facilities’ compliance with the OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM) standard,1 which aims to blunt the hazard of fires or explosions resulting from releases of “highly hazardous chemicals.” This “Washington Watch” column reviews the...
January 18, 2010
Lynn L. Bergeson, “FIFRA SAP Convenes First Nano Review,” NanoBusiness Alliance Newsletter, Issue 13, January 18, 2010.
On November 3-5, 2009, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) met to consider for the first time scientific issues related to the assessment of potential hazard and exposure associated with nanosilver and other nanometal pesticide products. This column briefly summarizes the discussion, and speculates on the outcome....
January 18, 2010
Lynn L. Bergeson and Leslie Scott MacDougall, co-authors, “Turkey Enacts REACH-Like Chemical Program,” Chemical Regulation Reporter, January 18, 2010.
In December 2008, Turkey enacted the Inventory and Control of Chemicals Regulation, a scaled-down version of the European Union’s REACH regulation to establish an inventory of chemicals produced and imported into Turkey and to better control potential risks posed by those chemical substances. Adoption of the regulation is one of many steps Turkey is required to take to secure membership in the European Union. The authors of this article advise chemical manufacturers and importers to...
January 1, 2010
Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Takes Unprecedented Action,” Chemical Processing, January 2010.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on December 30, 2009, issued a breathtaking series of action plans on “Risk List” chemicals that will shape future legislative proposals which industry will need to participate in and monitor....
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed on Sept. 30, 2009, to align the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) with provisions of the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). The HCS requires chemical manufacturers and importers to evaluate chemical hazards and provide information to subsequent users. The standard now requires employers to establish a hazard communication program for employees who are exposed to chemicals...
December 23, 2009
Lynn L. Bergeson, “Prepare to Report Climate Risks,” Chemical Processing, December 2009.
Publicly traded companies are required, under Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations, to disclose known and contingent material liabilities to ensure investors have reliable information on which to base their investment decisions. Increasingly, investor groups, nongovernment organizations (NGO), and others demand companies assess and disclose their financial risks from climate change. Following are recent developments advising that companies carefully consider how best to address...