All Things Chemical® Podcast

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Molly R. Blessing, Vice President of Sustainability & Product Stewardship for the Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA). We discuss a few of the fascinating and vexing challenges industry faces today in the complex world of product stewardship. We address the growing pains of conflicting state extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws, the challenges in California of labeling a product as recyclable, and making the case...

I was delighted this week to visit again with Alexandra Dunn, President and Chief Executive Officer of CropLife America (CLA), and my colleague Jim Aidala, to discuss some of the issues facing the crop protection industry. Alex’s amazing career has prepared her well for her demanding job. After graduating from law school and a brief stint in private practice, Alex served as general counsel for the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, then went on to become the Executive...

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with my colleagues, Catherina D. Narigon and L. Claire Hansen, both Associates with B&C and Regulatory Consultants with The Acta Group (Acta®), B&C’s consulting affiliate, about the complex world of end-of-life product management. We discuss extended producer responsibility (EPR), recyclability labeling requirements, and plastics and microplastics regulation and liability concerns. End-of-life product management is increasingly...

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with my colleagues, Carla N. Hutton, Senior Regulatory Analyst for B&C, and Lindsay A. Holden, Ph.D., DABT, Senior Toxicologist/Regulatory Scientist for B&C and The Acta Group (Acta®), our consulting affiliate. We discuss the relentless pace of state per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulations. For those expecting a slowdown, think again. Perhaps in response to perceived inaction at the federal level, over half the states are...

This week, I was pleased to welcome back to the studio Jim Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant at B&C and its consulting affiliate, The Acta Group (Acta®) and Claire Hansen, an Associate with B&C and Regulatory Analyst with Acta, to discuss the ever-changing influence of foreign policy on the chemical industry. As we all know, there is a lot going on in the world and much of it may seem somewhat tangential to the chemical industry. On closer inspection, Claire and...

Download transcript. This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Richard E. Engler, Director of Chemistry for B&C and The Acta Group (Acta®), our consulting affiliate, and Ryan N. Schmit, Of Counsel with B&C and Senior Regulatory Consultant with Acta, about the recent release of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment’s Discussion Draft of suggested amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The document has inspired spirited debate over the...

Download transcript. This week, I was pleased to welcome back to the studio Jim Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant at B&C and its consulting affiliate, The Acta Group (Acta®), to discuss his take on what to expect from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Congress on pesticide matters in the new year. As an astute student of politics and a keen observer of EPA chemical policies and personalities, hearing Jim’s observations is always informative. As many of you...

Download transcript. This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Rachel Harris, Technical Project Manager, Chain Reaction Innovations (CRI), Argonne National Laboratory, and our own Dr. Richard Engler, to discuss Argonne National Laboratory’s Chain Reaction Innovations entrepreneurship. We here at B&C truly appreciate the value and importance of chemical innovation, so when we learned of Argonne National Laboratory’s Chain Reaction Innovations program (CRI program), we wanted to...

Download transcript. This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Adelina Voutchkova, Director of Sustainable Development at the American Chemical Society (ACS), and my colleague Dr. Richard Engler, B&C’s Director of Chemistry, to discuss ACS’ much-coveted Green Chemistry Challenge Awards and ACS’ Green Chemistry Institute (GCI). Institutionally, GCI has grown as the imperative for greener and more sustainable chemicals has increased. So also have the stature of the Green...

Download transcript. This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Ryan N. Schmit, Of Counsel with B&C, and Senior Regulatory Consultant with The Acta Group (Acta®). Ryan joined us a few weeks ago and we wanted to show off our newest Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) superstar. We discuss Ryan’s illustrious career with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the past 15 years. As you will hear, Ryan has been at the forefront of TSCA policy development, Frank R. Lautenberg...