Memoranda

On January 4, 2017, the White House announced the release of the 2017 Update to the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology.  The 2017 Update provides a comprehensive summary of the roles and responsibilities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with respect to regulating biotechnology products.  Together with the National Strategy for Modernizing the...

Predictions and Outlook for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) 2017 Click here for a PDF brochure of the memorandum 2016 was full of surprises, two of which will drive much of the agenda for OCSPP during 2017. First, Congress significantly amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The changes are intended to reform the program to address the widely recognized deficiencies in the law, especially regarding existing chemicals, chemical testing,...

On January 4, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its final rule revising its regulation concerning the certification of applicators of restricted use pesticides (RUP).  EPA states that the final rule is intended to ensure federal certification program standards adequately protect applicators, the public, and the environment from risks associated with the use of RUPs.  According to EPA, the final rule will improve the competency of certified...

On December 20, 2016, EPA announced the start of a pilot program to evaluate the usefulness and acceptability of a mathematical tool (the GHS Mixtures Equation), which is used in the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). EPA states that the goal of the pilot program is to “evaluate the utility and acceptability of the GHS Mixtures Equation as an alternative to animal oral and inhalation toxicity studies for pesticide formulations.” For this pilot...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to publish in the December 21, 2016, Federal Register a final rule regarding procedures for rulemaking under Section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  Under TSCA Section 6, EPA has the authority to address risks from chemical substances, and Section 6 includes procedures that EPA must follow.  As amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, TSCA no longer mandates certain...

EPA Proposes To Add Nonylphenol Ethoxylates To Section 313: On November 16, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to add nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE) as a category for which reporting is needed under Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). 81 Fed. Reg. 80624. EPA is proposing to add this chemical category to the EPCRA Section 313 list because EPA believes NPEs meet the EPCRA Section 313(d)(2)(C) toxicity criteria. Specifically,...

On December 8, 2016, President-Elect Donald Trump confirmed his intention to nominate Oklahoma Attorney General (AG) E. Scott Pruitt to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Rumors about Mr. Pruitt’s nomination have been circulating for some time, but his nomination was confirmed via a Facebook post.  Mr. Pruitt has been the Oklahoma AG since November 2010.  Mr. Pruitt received a B.A. from Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky, in Political Science and...

On June 23, 2016, more than 30 million people voted in a referendum to decide whether the United Kingdom (UK) should “Leave” or “Remain” in the European Union (EU).  The referendum turnout was 71.8 percent and the Leave Campaign won by 52 percent to 48 percent, making “Brexit” an important and imminent probability with potentially significant implications for a range of stakeholders, including the chemicals industry.  The following statement from current UK Prime Minister...

On November 15, 2016, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) held a webinar to provide an update on its progress and seek input from stakeholders regarding the selection of the next set of Priority Products under the Safer Consumer Products Regulations (SCPR). A recording of the webinar will be uploaded by DTSC to its workshops web page when available. The webinar is the first step in implementing DTSC’s 2015-2017 Priority Product Work...

As reported in The Acta Group EU, Ltd's (Acta EU®) August 26, 2016, Global Regulatory Update, this summer, Thailand's Department of Industrial Works (DIW) published a preliminary inventory of existing chemicals (Preliminary of Thailand Existing Chemicals Inventory). The preliminary inventory can be searched by Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) number or trade name. DIW created the preliminary inventory by combining the hazardous substance list; the most recent hazardous chemical...