TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/NTP/TRI EPA Denies Petition To Ban Triclosan: On May 13, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denied a petition submitted in January 2010 by Food & Water Watch and Beyond Pesticides seeking to ban triclosan, an antibacterial compound. According to EPA, "the information available at this time does not support granting the majority of the relief requested. The agency notes, however, that it is currently engaged across various programs in assessing the risks...
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/NTP/TRI EPA Releases TSCA Work Plan Chemical Problem Formulation, Initial Assessment For 1,4-Dioxane: On April 28, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan Chemical Problem Formulation and Initial Assessment for 1,4-Dioxane, a chemical used primarily as a solvent in the manufacture of other chemicals. 80 Fed. Reg. 23545. A first step in the assessment of TSCA Work Plan chemicals, the 1,4-Dioxane Problem...
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/NTP/TRI EAB Reverses Epic Penalty In Elementis Case, But Affirms EPA's "Continuing" TSCA Section 8(e) Interpretation: On March 13, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) reversed the November 2013 Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ruling that Elementis must pay a $2.5 million penalty for failing to submit a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(e) notice on a 2002 study showing hexavalent chromium causes lung...
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/NTP/TRI EPA Extends Deadline On TDI SNUR: On February 23, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) extended the deadline of its proposed Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) concerning 2,4-toluene diisocyanate, 2,6-toluene diisocyanate, toluene diisocyanate unspecified isomers (TDI) and related compounds. 80 Fed. Reg. 9427. EPA extended the comment period for 45 days, from March 16, 2015, to April 30, 2015. EPA Extends Comment Period On Proposed SNUR For 13...
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/NTP/TRI EPA OEI Office Announces Transfer Of TRI Program To OPPT: On January 22, 2015, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Environmental Information (OEI) announced that EPA has begun the process of transferring the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program to the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT). EPA believes this move would leverage better scientific and technical expertise in both EPA program offices and make the TRI program a more integral...
Predictions And Outlook For EPA's Office Of Chemical Safety And Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) 2015: 2015 will be a very interesting year. There are two overarching considerations that will make the year more difficult to predict than merely assuming most of this year's issues will simply be extensions of past issues, with a few new initiatives sprinkled in. First, the new Republican majority in the Senate will change the dynamic between the Executive and Legislative branches. Second, the...
Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. extends its best wishes to our clients and many friends and we wish you and your family a happy, healthy, and peaceful New Year. As we have for many years, the firm has made a contribution to the House of Ruth, a shelter for battered women and their children, in lieu of gifts to our clients, and on our clients' behalf. Global Chemical Control Handbook Published by ABA SEER The attorneys, scientists, and regulatory professionals of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C....
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/EPCRA/NTP EPA Proposes To Remove 72 Chemicals From Approved Pesticide Inert Ingredients List: On October 22, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested public comment on a proposal to remove 72 chemicals from its list of substances approved for use as inert ingredients in pesticide products. 79 Fed. Reg. 63120. EPA reportedly is responding to petitions submitted by the Center for Environmental Health, Beyond Pesticides, Physicians for Social...
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/EPCRA/NTP EPA Schedules SAP Meeting On Endocrine Activity: On September 16, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has scheduled a four-day meeting of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel (FIFRA SAP) to consider and review Integrated Endocrine Activity and Exposure-based Prioritization and Screening. 79 Fed. Reg. 55475. The meeting will be held on December 2–5, 2014, from approximately 9:00...
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/EPCRA Health Activists' Petition Seeks Sunset Of CBI Claims: On August 21, 2014, six environmental health organizations filed a petition under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The petition urges the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to initiate a rulemaking to require periodically the re-substantiation of confidential business information (CBI) claims made under TSCA. Under TSCA, EPA has 90 days within which to respond to the petition. Draft...
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/EPCRA IARC Classifies Dichloromethane, Other Substances As Human Carcinogens: In June, an expert panel of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that dichloromethane, a chemical substance used to make plastics, synthetic fibers, photographic films, and solvents, is a probable human carcinogen (Group 2A). IARC classified 1,2-dichloropropane (1,2-DCP), a solvent primarily used to make other chemicals, as a human carcinogen (Group 1). The expert panel...
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/EPCRA Limited Space Still Available For Sustainable Futures Training Workshop: There are still spaces available for the Sustainable Futures Training workshop scheduled for August 5-7, 2014, at the George Washington University campus in Washington, D.C. Attendees at the three-day workshop will get firsthand experience with the tools, methods, and models used by the U.S. Environmental Protection (EPA) in its assessment of new chemicals. The workshop includes in-depth...
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/EPCRA EPA Extols Pesticide Civil Penalty, But The Decision Could Be Problematic For Registrants And EPA: On June 6, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Liphatech, Inc. (Liphatech), a pesticide manufacturer based in Milwaukee, WI, paid a $738,000 civil penalty for Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) violations. The vast majority of the penalty was based on violations of FIFRA Section 12(a)(2)(E), because, EPA alleged,...
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/EPCRA B&C® Creates TSCA Reform Online Hub: Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) has created an online hub for news, information, and commentary on Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform that is available at www.TSCAreform.org. B&C's lawyers, scientists, regulatory specialists, and business consultants relentlessly participate in and track developments regarding ongoing TSCA reform efforts and related state regulatory initiatives such as...
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/EPCRA EPA Makes TSCA Notifications Of Substantial Risk Amendable To Electronic Reporting: On March 19, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that notifications of substantial risk under Section 8(e) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and voluntary For Your Information (FYI) submissions may now be filed electronically using EPA's electronic document submission system, the Central Data Exchange (CDX). 79 Fed. Reg. 15329. Use of this electronic...
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/EPCRA EPA's Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program Updates EDSP Comprehensive Management Plan: On February 21, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updated its Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) Comprehensive Management Plan to emphasize the utilization of advanced informational technology and computational methods. The updated 2014 EDSP Comprehensive Management Plan provides strategic guidance for EPA personnel and outlines the critical EDSP...
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/EPCRA EPA Delivers ITC's 73rd Report To EPA Administrator: On January 23, 2014, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the Interagency Testing Committee's (ITC) 73rd Report to the EPA Administrator. 79 Fed. Reg. 4068. The Report removes five High Production Volume (HPV) program orphan chemicals from the ITC's Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 4(e) Priority Testing List. The chemicals are: 1,3-hexanediol, 2-ethyl- (CAS No. 94-96-2); octane,...
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/EPCRA Predictions For EPA's Office Of Chemical Safety And Pollution Prevention: Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) outlines thoughts on what may be headed our way in 2014 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). We also offer a few thoughts on European and Asian developments pertinent to chemical regulatory matters. Although President Obama is well into his second term, the 2014 off-year...
Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. extends its best wishes to our clients and many friends and we wish you and your family a happy, healthy, and peaceful New Year. As we have for many years, the firm has made a contribution to the House of Ruth, a shelter for battered women and their children, in lieu of gifts to our clients, and on our clients' behalf. TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/EPCRA EPA Statement Of Regulatory Priorities Includes Taking Action On Toxics And Chemical Safety: On November 26, 2013, the...
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/EPCRA IARC Nominations Of Possible Carcinogens: The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) announced on October 15, 2013, that it is seeking nominations by January 31, 2014, of chemicals, occupations, biological agents, or other factors suspected of causing cancer in humans. A scientific committee will review the nominated substances or situations April 7-9, 2014, to select those that will be subject to examination to determine whether they are human...