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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 19, 2019, that it posted the first public Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory to include unique identifier (UID) information. EPA states that the UID is a numerical identifier assigned to a chemical substance when EPA approves a confidential business information (CBI) claim for specific chemical identity. When EPA approves such a claim, it assigns a UID to that chemical identity; applies the UID to other...
September 18, 2019
EC Proposes REACH Restriction For PVC Articles Containing Lead And Lead Compounds and Other Recent REACH Developments
EC Study To Analyze Integration Of REACH In Customs Procedures: The European Commission (EC) will launch a “call for tender” in relation to Action 13 of the Second Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Review, which addresses enhancement of enforcement. In a document entitled “REACH and customs contract” issued following the 30th Meeting of the Competent Authorities for REACH and Classification, Labeling, and Packaging (CLP) (CARACAL), the...
September 17, 2019
Earthjustice Notifies EPA of Intent to Sue for Failure to Disclose Information about New Chemical Substances
On September 3, 2019, Earthjustice filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a notice of intent (NOI) to sue EPA under Section 20(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for “EPA’s repeated and ongoing failures to comply with TSCA’s nondiscretionary mandates to disclose to the public information about new chemical substances reviewed by EPA.” According to Earthjustice, EPA “routinely fails to disclose” certain information regarding the submission...
The Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of its “Environmental Risk Assessment and Control Regulation for Chemical Substances (Notification Draft)” (the draft Regulation) and “Measures on the Environmental Management of New Chemical Substances (Notification Draft)” (the draft Measures) on September 2, 2019. The draft Regulation is a revised version of the Consultative Draft of the Regulation published on January 8, 2019,...
August 30, 2019
B&C-Authored Article “Protecting the Value of Health, Safety Studies—Emerging TSCA Issues” Published in Bloomberg Environment Insights
The cost of generating health and safety studies is considerable and data owners have every right to expect some protection from disclosure to preserve the value of their intellectual property. This is no longer guaranteed as Lynn L. Bergeson, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., and Kathleen M. Roberts wrote in a two-part article in Bloomberg Environment Insights. The authors propose that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) practice of disclosing entire health and safety studies...
August 30, 2019
NY Department of Environmental Conservation Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program Ruled “Null and Void”
In a significant victory for industry, on August 27, 2019, the State of New York Supreme Court invalidated the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program (Disclosure Program). Information related to NYDEC’s prior delay of its enforcement of its Disclosure Program is available here, and general information regarding the Program and its extensive requirements for manufacturers of certain consumer cleaning...
On July 1, 2020, the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS) will replace the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS). The Industrial Chemicals Act 2019, which was passed by Parliament in February 2019 and received Royal Assent in March 2019, created AICIS, a new regulatory scheme for the importation and manufacture of industrial chemicals in Australia. Currently, NICNAS assesses the risks of industrial chemicals and provides...
August 26, 2019
EPA Proposes to Designate 20 Chemical Substances as High-Priority Substances for Risk Evaluation under TSCA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice on August 23, 2019, proposing to designate 20 chemical substances as high-priority substances for risk evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 84 Fed. Reg. 44300. The notice and supporting docket materials identify the proposed designation for each of the chemical substances and instructions on how to access the chemical-specific information, analysis, and basis used by EPA...
August 22, 2019
FTC’s Green Guides Apply to Claims Regarding the Environmental Benefits of Simulated and Laboratory-Created Diamonds
In April 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent warning letters to eight companies advertising simulated or laboratory-created diamonds. In a May 3, 2019, Business Blog item entitled “The many facets of advertising diamonds with clarity,” FTC states that according to the letters, the companies promoted their products without adequately disclosing that they were not mined diamonds. In the blog item, FTC posed questions to FTC attorney Robert Frisby regarding the...
August 19, 2019
EPA Begins Comment Period on Manufacturer Requests for Risk Evaluation of DIDP and DINP, and Identifies Additional Conditions of Use
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 16, 2019, that it has opened the public comment periods for manufacturer requests for the risk evaluations of two chemicals used in plastic production, diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and diisononyl phthalate (DINP). EPA notes that the manufacturer-requested risk evaluations of DIDP and DINP “are among the first such evaluations of this kind to be requested” under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA states that it “is...