The New York Interagency Committee on Sustainability and Green Procurement has voted 9-1 to recommend a “chemical avoidance list,” which would be a list of 85 chemicals that New York government agencies should avoid buying. Listed chemicals would not be banned, but industry representatives have criticized the proposal, noting that the list would not address the actual risk from exposure. The Committee intends the list to comply with Governor David Paterson’s 2008 Executive...
True to her word, yesterday U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced action plans on phthalates, long-chain perfluorinated chemicals (PFC), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) in products, and short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCP). 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 — and possibly shape future...
Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals (Fourth Report), which provides an ongoing assessment of the exposure of the U.S. population to environmental chemicals using biomonitoring. The Fourth Report presents data for the U.S. population for 212 environmental chemicals over the period 2003-2004, updating CDC’s 2005 Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental...
December 9, 2009
EPA Announces Development of Voluntary Pilot Programs for Antimicrobial Pesticide Products
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) announced the development of two voluntary pilot programs for antimicrobial pesticide products. Working collaboratively with the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC), OPP explored the different types of label statements and logos for antimicrobial pesticide product labels. OPP developed the Factual Label Statement Pilot Program and the OPP-Design for the Environment (DfE) Logo Pilot...
December 8, 2009
EPA Announces Revised Risk Assessment Methods for Workers, Children of Workers in Agricultural Fields, and Pesticides with No Food Uses
Earlier today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of a policy paper entitled Revised Risk Assessment Methods for Workers, Children of Workers in Agricultural Fields, and Pesticides with No Food Uses, which describes how EPA plans to use revised methods in conducting risk assessments for pesticide uses and exposures not governed by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). According to EPA, implementing this policy will increase...
December 7, 2009
ECHA Member State Committee Agrees on New SVHCs to Be Added to the Candidate List and First REACH Testing Decision
During the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Member State Committee’s December 2-4, 2009, meeting, the Committee unanimously agreed that 15 new substances of very high concern (SVHC) would be added to the Candidate List. The Committee also unanimously agreed on a testing proposal from ECHA that was submitted under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation. More information on these actions is provided below. 15 SVHCs to Be Added to...
Today the full Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health held a joint hearing entitled “Oversight Hearing on the Federal Toxic Substances Control Act.â€Â During the hearing, Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), Chair of the Subcommittee, stated that he is preparing legislation to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). In 2005 and 2008, Lautenberg introduced the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act, which...
November 30, 2009
EU Council Adopts Updated Cosmetics Regulation Requiring Labeling of Nanoscale Ingredients
On November 20, 2009, the European Union (EU) Council approved an updated cosmetics regulation that would require cosmetic products that contain nanoscale ingredients to be labeled as such. The regulation would also require the manufacturers of new cosmetic products containing nanomaterials to notify the European Commission (EC) and provide certain information six months before the product is placed on the European market. If the EC has concerns regarding the safety of the...
November 25, 2009
EPA Seeks Comment on a Framework for Categorizing the Relative Vulnerability of Threatened and Endangered Species in Climate Change
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released and requested comment on a draft document titled, “A Framework for Categorizing the Relative Vulnerability of Threatened and Endangered Species to Climate Change” (EPA/600/R-09/011). 74 Fed. Reg. 61671. The document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment within EPA’s Office of Research and Development. The draft document describes an evaluative framework to categorize the relative...
November 18, 2009
First Appeal Filed with ECHA Board of Appeal Results in Rectification of ECHA Decision
On September 16, 2009, Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW), with and relying on the advice and assistance of The Acta Group EU, Ltd (Acta EU), an affiliate of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., submitted the first appeal against a decision of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA or the Agency) with the ECHA Board of Appeal, on behalf of the registrant. On the basis of this submission, on October 14, 2009, the Executive Director of ECHA rectified the...
November 17, 2009
House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Prioritizing Chemicals for Safety Determination
Today the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection held a hearing entitled “Prioritizing Chemicals for Safety Determination.” The hearing was intended to examine the options for prioritizing chemicals for safety determinations in the event that Congress passes legislation amending the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and reflects Congress’s sustained interest in chemical management reform legislation. The hearing, which was...
Today the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced the online availability of a webinar regarding preparing and submitting a registration dossier. ECHA held the webinar on November 4, 2009, for lead registrants. The objective of the webinar was to provide lead registrants with an understanding of the main technical concepts required to be able to prepare and submit a registration dossier. ECHA covered the following topics: exporting information as an IUCLID 5...
On October 29, 2009, the European Commission (EC) adopted a Communication entitled Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies: An Action Plan for Europe 2005-2009. Second Implementation Report 2007-2009. The Communication outlines the key developments during 2007-2009 in each policy area of the Nanotechnology Action Plan 2005-2009, identifies current challenges, and draws conclusions relevant to the future European nanotechnology policy. According to the Communication, the EC has made significant...
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) under Section 5(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for two chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN). EPA identified the substances generically as multi-walled carbon nanotubes and single-walled carbon nanotubes. According to the notice, these substances are subject to TSCA Section 5(e) consent orders issued by EPA. The consent orders require protective...
On October 27-28, 2009, the Ninth Antimicrobial Workshop was held in Arlington, Virginia. The American Chemistry Council (ACC) Biocides Panel, the Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA), and ISSA sponsored the Workshop, which was conducted in coordination with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Antimicrobials Division. The Workshop included presentations on the following topics: According to the Workshop organizers, the presentations will be available by the end of this week...
November 4, 2009
EPA Announces Draft Pesticide Registration Notice Concerning Drift Labeling and Petition Regarding Children’s Exposures to Pesticide Drift
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of a Pesticide Registration (PR) Notice entitled “Pesticide Drift Labeling” (2009-X) and a draft explanatory document entitled “Pesticide Drift Labeling Interpretation.” In a separate Federal Register notice, EPA announced that, on October 13, 2009, Earthjustice and Farmworker Justice, on behalf of several other organizations, filed a petition requesting that EPA...
Today the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced the availability of its Guidance in a Nutshell: Chemical Safety Assessment, which is intended to assist industry in understanding the general provisions for conducting a Chemical Safety Assessment (CSA). ECHA states that the Guidance is aimed at non-experts who would like to understand the legal requirements under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation regarding substance...
On October 14 and 15, 2009, the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC) held its semiannual meeting in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offices in Arlington, Virginia. This memorandum summarizes the presentations and topics discussed during the meeting, which were organized into seven sessions: Copies of the slides and handouts from the meeting are available at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/ppdc/2009/october/october09.html. In his introductory remarks, Steve Owens,...
This memorandum outlines research being sponsored, conducted, or planned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding nanoscale materials. FDA has indicated repeatedly that it needs additional information on the characterization of such materials to make informal decisions regarding the safety of regulated products that incorporate nanotechnology.1 While those decisions are for the most part in the future, there is at least one use of nanotechnology in drug and cosmetic products...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has posted two prepublication Federal Register notices concerning its Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP). In the first notice, EPA announces the EDSP Tier 1 battery of assays and availability of test guidelines for conducting the assays included in the battery. In the second notice, EPA announces the issuance of the initial EDSP screening orders and the schedule of issuance. EPA expects both notices to be...