December 23, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson and Lara A. Hall, “M&A activity in the analytical services sector: points to consider,” Financier Worldwide, January 2021.

There has been remarkable consolidation in the analytical services sector in the US and elsewhere globally over the past few years. Make no mistake; the need for analytical and related testing services is growing significantly. Because of the legal and regulatory frameworks that demand such services, however, there is considerable need for attendant technical expertise to staff these laboratories, and the need for specialised expertise is also growing exponentially. This article summarises...
December 16, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Fee Controversy Continues,” Chemical Processing, December 16, 2020.

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to collect fees from chemical manufacturers (including importers) to defray a portion of the costs associated with TSCA implementation efforts. The TSCA fees rule requires payment for eight categories of fee-triggering events under TSCA, including EPA-initiated risk evaluations under TSCA Section 6. The EPA must prepare a preliminary list of manufacturers subject to fee obligations for EPA-initiated...
November 20, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Announces Carbon Tetrachloride Risks,” Chemical Processing, November 20, 2020.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the final risk evaluation for carbon tetrachloride on November 4, 2020. The EPA found unreasonable risks to workers and occupational non-users (ONU) for 13 of the 15 conditions of CCl4 use, but no unreasonable risks to the environment. According to the EPA, there are no consumer uses of this chemical. Most agree the findings are not unexpected. This article explains the assessment and the results....
November 2, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson and Eve C. Gartner, “The essentials of TSCA practice,” ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Trends, November/December 2020.

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is not the arcane federal law it once was. Amended in 2016 in response to a demand so loud and persistent from nongovernmental organizations, consumers, and, eventually, the industrial chemical community that Congress could no longer ignore it, TSCA is now a force with which to be reckoned. While the U.S Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) implementation of the 2016 Lautenberg Act that amended TSCA invites criticism among stakeholders, there...
October 26, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Pandemic Spurs Enforcement Revisions,” Chemical Processing, October 26, 2020.

The White House Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) issued memorandum M-20-31 on August 31, 2020, on the implementation of Section 6 of Executive Order (EO) 13924, “Executive Order on Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery.” This article explains the guidance, why it may prove useful to know about its content, and how to leverage the guidance successfully in future enforcement actions and adjudications....
September 16, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Tells Businesses To Pay Up,” Chemical Processing, September 16, 2020.

On August 26, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the much-anticipated interim final list of businesses subject to risk evaluation fees for the 20 chemicals designated as “high priority” under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Making the interim final list available now gives businesses and other stakeholders an opportunity to review the list for accuracy. It also provides time for businesses to reach out to form consortia to share in fee payments....
September 9, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Feeling the Pinch: who pays TSCA risk evaluation fees?,” Financier Worldwide, September 2020.

Ordinarily, government fees command little interest in corporate finance and board-level business circles. Newly imposed fees to defray the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) risk evaluation of high-priority chemical substances under Section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) are extraordinary, however, and are commanding significant interest. This article explains why....
August 31, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Off to the Races—CDR Reporting Begins!,” Washington Watch, Fall 2020.

As the expression goes, it is that time of year again.  Section 8 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires manufacturers, including importers, to provide the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with information on the production and use of chemicals in commerce at four-year intervals.  The last reporting cycle for the requirement, known as the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) requirement, was in 2016, so TSCA stakeholders have been gearing up since then for the...
August 31, 2020

S. Bhandari, P. Delmonte, M. Honigfort, W. Yan, F. Dionisi, M. Fleith, D. Iassonova, L. Bergeson, “Regulatory Changes Affecting the Production and Use of Fats and Oils: Focus on Partially Hydrogenated Oils,” Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society, Volume 97, Issue 8, August 2020.

Partially hydrogenated oils (PHO), the products of incomplete catalytic hydrogenation of food oils, have been widely employed by the food industry for more than a century. Their exceptional stability and technologic characteristics made them the preferred choice for the production of several food products including margarines, bakery goods, and frying oils. Some of these highly prized characteristics were provided by the high content in trans fatty acids (TFA), defined as fatty acids...
August 21, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Eyes Carpet Chemicals,” Chemical Processing, August 21, 2020.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to regulate “forever chemicals,” named such for their persistence and risk to the environment and health. On July 27, 2020, the EPA issued a long-awaited final rule amending significant new use rules (SNUR) issued earlier on such chemicals — one pertinent to certain perfluoroalkyl sulfonate chemical substances and the other on long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylate (LCPFAC) chemical substances. To some, the final rule...