Memoranda

EPA Publishes Final EDSP Policies And Procedures And Final Second List Of Chemicals And Substances For Tier 1 Screening: On June 14, 2013, EPA published a Federal Register notice describing its final policies and procedures for requiring Tier 1 screening under the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) of chemicals for which EPA may issue EDSP test orders pursuant to Section 1457 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and Section 408(p) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic...

Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of November 30, 2009, on Cosmetic Products will come into force on July 11, 2013, and repeals the Cosmetics Directive Regulation (Directive 76/768/EEC) provisions concerning carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic for reproduction (CMR) substances that have applied since December 1, 2010. The European Commission (EC) states that the Cosmetics Directive "until now ensured that products circulate freely whilst...

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy, held a June 13, 2013, hearing on "Title I of the Toxic Substances Control Act: Understanding its History and Reviewing its Impact." The oversight hearing was intended to improve the Subcommittee's understanding of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and its implementation. The background memorandum for the hearing notes that Title I authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection...

In a stunning bipartisan show of support for reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that few saw coming, Senators David Vitter (R-LA) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) (among bipartisan others) introduced on May 22, 2013, the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA), later designated S. 1009, available online. CSIA provides a new and streamlined approach to reform TSCA that stakeholders may view favorably when compared to prior legislative templates that have been considered...

Senator David Vitter (R-LA) announced today that he and Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) are the lead co-sponsors on a bill to reauthorize and amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The bill, entitled the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA), is co-sponsored by the following Senators: Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)Mike Crapo (R-ID)Dick Durbin (D-IL)Lamar Alexander (R-TN)Charles Schumer (D-NY)James Inhofe (R-OK)Tom Udall (D-NM)Susan Collins (R-ME)Joe Manchin (D-WV)Marco Rubio...

On April 24, 2013, the South Korea National Assembly Environmental and Labor Committee passed the Act on Registration and Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical Substances, commonly known as Korea REACH or K-REACH. On April 30, 2013, the National Assembly enacted K-REACH, and it is now scheduled to come into force on January 1, 2015. Information on K-REACH is not yet available on the Ministry of Environment's website. A translation of the Act is available online. This...

On May 8, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a long-awaited final rule revising the data requirements for antimicrobial pesticide products. EPA states the revisions "reflect current scientific and regulatory practice, and [] provide the regulated community with clearer and transparent information about the data needed to support pesticide registration decisions for antimicrobial products." The final rule revises and updates the data requirements for antimicrobial...

The European Union (EU) voted April 29, 2013, on a proposal to restrict the use of three neonicotinoid substances for agricultural uses. The substances are clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam. The proposal failed to gain sufficient support from the 27 EU Member States Appeal Committee and was passed to the European Commission (EC), which has confirmed that the proposal will be adopted in the coming weeks. Restriction upon the agricultural use of the three neonicotinoid substances will...

On April 22-23, 2013, the Association of American Pesticide Control Officials (AAPCO)/State Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Issues Research and Evaluation Group (SFIREG) Pesticide Operations Management (POM) Working Committee (WC) held its semi-annual full committee meeting in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offices in Crystal City, Virginia. Through a cooperative agreement in 1978, EPA and AAPCO created SFIREG, an AAPCO committee with EPA funding, to...

In a widely anticipated and potentially influential report released on April 30, 2013, a committee of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) made detailed recommendations concerning potential revisions to the process by which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service (the Services) assess risk during consultation under Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for specific...