June 12, 2019

Former EPA Administrators Address Direction of EPA in House Committee Hearing

On June 11, 2019, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on “Critical Mission: Former Administrators Address the Direction of the EPA.” According to the June 6, 2019, memorandum from Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, in April 2019, seven former Administrators of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent the Committee on Energy and Commerce and other congressional...
June 11, 2019

OSHA Announced Delay to Update of Hazard Communication Standard

In the Trump Administration’s Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Regulatory Agenda) issued on October 17, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a Proposed Rule Stage item titled “Update to the Hazard Communication Standard,” RIN 1218-AC93, and scheduled the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to be issued by March 2019.  The full description of the item is: OSHA and other U.S. agencies have been...
June 7, 2019

APHIS Proposes Revised Regulatory Framework Regarding the Movement of Certain Genetically Engineered Organisms

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued a proposed rule on June 6, 2019, on the movement of certain genetically engineered (GE) organisms. 84 Fed. Reg. 26514. The proposed rule would revise the regulations regarding the movement, including the importation, interstate movement, and environmental release of certain GE organisms in response to advances in genetic engineering and APHIS’ understanding of the plant pest risk...
May 8, 2019

Strength in Numbers: Why Forming a TSCA Consortium Is Important

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on March 20, 2019, a list of 20 chemicals that EPA has suggested as candidates for high priority designation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), as reported in our March 22, 2019, memorandum “EPA Releases List of 40 Chemicals Undergoing Prioritization for Risk Evaluation.”  Should those chemicals go forward as high priority, they will be subject to risk evaluation under TSCA Section 6.  Industry...
May 7, 2019

OEHHA Publishes Prop 65 Definition of Nickel (Soluble Compounds)

On May 2, 2019, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) published a definition of nickel (soluble compounds) for the purposes of Proposition 65 (Prop 65). Under the notice, nickel (soluble compounds) are defined to be compounds of nickel with solubility in water of greater than 0.1 moles per liter (mol/L) at 20oC. OEHHA states that this definition is consistent both with the discussion by the Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification...
April 18, 2019

EPA Announces Final SNUR for Asbestos Will “Close Loophole and Protect Consumers”

On April 17, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a final significant new use rule (SNUR) for asbestos using the definition in Title II, Section 202 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which defines asbestos as the “asbestiform varieties of six fiber types — chrysotile (serpentine), crocidolite (riebeckite), amosite (cummingtonite-grunerite), anthophyllite, tremolite or actinolite.”  EPA states that it is promulgating the SNUR “to...
April 16, 2019

Reminder on the Upcoming June 30, 2019, Registration Deadline for Existing Chemical Substances in South Korea

The South Korea amendment to the Act on Registration and Evaluation, etc of Chemical Substances (K-REACH) came into effect on January 1, 2019.  All existing chemical substances (i.e., substances that are listed on the existing chemical inventory in South Korea) manufactured in or imported to South Korea at greater than or equal to one ton per year are now subject to registration. Existing chemical substances must be pre-registered by the fast-approaching deadline of June 30,...
April 15, 2019

EPA Proposes TSCA CDR Revisions and Update to Small Manufacturer Definition for TSCA Section 8(a)

On April 12, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a proposed rule that would amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a) Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) requirements and the TSCA Section 8(a) size standards for small manufacturers. The current CDR rule requires manufacturers (including importers) of certain chemical substances listed on the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory (TSCA Inventory) to report data on chemical manufacturing, processing, and use every...
April 15, 2019

Turkey Secures EU Funds To Support KKDIK Implementation

Turkey has obtained new funds from the EU to support implementation of KKDIK (Registration (Kaydı), Evaluation (Değerlendirilmesi), Authorization (İzni) and Restriction (Kısıtlanması) of Chemicals (Kimyasalların)) (Turkey REACH). Turkey has secured € 1.6 million as part of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) program, “the means by which the EU supports reforms in the ‘enlargement countries’ with financial and technical help.” The funds obtained...
April 11, 2019

EPA Announces Proposed Procedures for Review of CBI Claims for the Identity of Chemicals on the TSCA Inventory

On April 10, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a proposed rule regarding its plan to review certain confidential business information (CBI) claims to protect the specific chemical identities of substances on the confidential portion of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory.  The CBI claims that would be reviewed under this plan are those that were asserted on Notice of Activity (NOA) Form A’s filed in accordance with the requirements in...
April 10, 2019

House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on EPA’s FY 2020 Budget

On April 9, 2019, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change held a hearing on the fiscal year (FY) 2020 budget for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The April 5, 2019, memorandum from Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, states that President Trump’s FY 2020 budget requests $6.068 billion for EPA, a $2.76 billion (31 percent) decrease from the level set in...
April 2, 2019

EPA Releases Draft Guidance for Pesticide Registrants on Plant Regulator Label Claims, Including Plant Biostimulants

On March 25, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally weighed-in on the murky and often misunderstood topic of label claims for plant regulators and plant biostimulants in posting its Draft Guidance for Plant Regulator Label Claims, Including Plant Biostimulants in Docket # EPA-HQ-OPP-2018-0258.  EPA issued the notice of availability in the Federal Register on March 27, 2019.  84 Fed. Reg. 11538.  EPA states that the draft...
April 1, 2019

Final SNURs Will Break New Ground under Amended TSCA

On March 27, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted a signed final rule that will establish final significant new use rules (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 13 chemical substances that are the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN). The final rule is significant because the 13 chemical substances are not also subject to consent orders. During the review, EPA identified certain reasonably foreseen conditions of use that it designated as...
March 28, 2019

House Subcommittees Hold Hearing on EPA’s IRIS Program

On March 27, 2019, the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight and Subcommittee on Environment held a hearing on “EPA’s IRIS Program:  Reviewing its Progress and Roadblocks Ahead.”  The hearing focused on issues with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Program, as described in two recent reports issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Chemical Assessments:...
March 22, 2019

EPA Releases List of 40 Chemicals Undergoing Prioritization for Risk Evaluation

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on March 20, 2019, a list of 40 chemicals for which EPA is initiating the prioritization process for risk evaluation. Section 6(b)(2)(B) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires that, as of three and a half years after enactment (by December 22, 2019), at least 20 high-priority chemicals be undergoing risk evaluations and at least 20 low-priority chemicals be designated by EPA. In a March 21, 2019, Federal Register...
March 20, 2019

EPA Bans Consumer Sales of Methylene Chloride Paint Removers, Seeks Comment on Program for Commercial Uses

On March 15, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a signed final rule that prohibits the manufacture (including import), processing, and distribution of methylene chloride for consumer paint and coating removal. EPA states that it “determined that the use of methylene chloride in consumer paint and coating removal presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health due to acute human lethality.” Under the final rule, paint removal products containing...
March 19, 2019

EPA Releases New Tools to Help Companies Meet July 1 Mercury Reporting Requirements

On March 18, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released new tools intended to help companies, organizations, and individuals fulfill their reporting requirements under the mercury reporting requirements rule. Those required to report under the mercury rule can now do so online through the Mercury Electronic Reporting (MER) application accessed through EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX). EPA states that it designed this reporting tool “to be user-friendly, with drop-down...
March 14, 2019

House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on “Mismanaging Chemical Risks:  EPA’s Failure to Protect Workers”

On March 13, 2019, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change held a hearing on “Mismanaging Chemical Risks:  EPA’s Failure to Protect Workers.”  The hearing examined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) assessment and management of risks to workers from toxic chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and other laws.  The Subcommittee focused on EPA’s implementation of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for...
March 8, 2019

EPA’s Process for Assessing and Controlling Toxic Chemicals Remains on GAO’s High-Risk List

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released on March 6, 2019, a report entitled High-Risk Series: Substantial Efforts Needed to Achieve Greater Progress on High-Risk Areas. GAO’s high-risk program identifies government operations with vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, or in need of transformation to address economy, efficiency, or effectiveness challenges. GAO’s report describes the status of high-risk areas and outlines actions necessary to assure...
March 6, 2019

GAO Reviews EPA’s IRIS Assessment Efforts and Implementation of TSCA Reforms

On March 4, 2019, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report titled Chemical Assessments:  Status of EPA’s Efforts to Produce Assessments and Implement the Toxic Substances Control Act.  The report describes the extent to which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Program has addressed identified challenges and made progress toward producing chemical assessments; and assesses whether EPA has...