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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...