All Things Chemical® Podcast

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with my colleague, Carla N. Hutton, Senior Regulatory Analyst for B&C, to discuss recent developments in state PFAS regulation. Carla and I visited a few months ago, but there have been so many recent developments, we thought we needed to visit again to ensure our listeners are well informed. We discuss what is new with PFAS reporting and labeling under the New Mexico PFAS Protection Act. New guidance is welcome, as there has been a lack of clarity...

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Susanna W. Blair, Senior Director of Regulatory and Technical Affairs for the Consumer Brands Association (CBA), which represents the interests of the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) community. Having left the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after a distinguished career as a senior scientist and policy expert, Dr. Blair is putting her science policy chops to good use at CBA. We discuss CBA’s mission, its focus on food and...

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with my new colleague, Richard J. Fehir, Ph.D., Senior Chemist/Regulatory Scientist, at B&C and its consulting affiliate, The Acta Group (Acta®), to discuss his career at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and how he is now deploying his considerable scientific chops at B&C and Acta. Rick is a bit unusual, as he has worked for both EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) and Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP),...

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 ever-tricky topic of confidential business information (CBI) -- what is it, how to protect it, and steps to take to avoid losing it. As listeners may know, the protection afforded certain information claimed CBI begins to sunset...

This week, I was pleased to welcome back to the studio Dana S. Lateulere, Regulatory Consultant with B&C and its consulting affiliate, The Acta Group (Acta®), and James V. Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant at B&C and Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs, at Acta, to discuss the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) significant role in combating pathogens like those spreading the highly virulent Ebola virus and Hantavirus. Both Dana and Jim have extensive...

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with my colleague, Carla N. Hutton, Senior Regulatory Analyst for B&C, to discuss emerging state per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) restrictions. As many listeners appreciate, dozens of states are considering, and others have enacted, state restrictions on a wide variety of products with the goal of eventually prohibiting the sale of products that contain intentionally added PFAS. Several states have implemented regulatory provisions that require,...

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Ahna G. Brutlag, Vice President of Veterinary Services and Senior Veterinary Toxicologist at SafetyCall International, LLC and Pet Poison Helpline®. Impressively, Dr. Brutlag is a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Toxicology (ABVT) as well as a Diplomate of the human counterpart, the American Board of Toxicology (ABT), a distinction shared by fewer than 80 people in North America. Dr. Brutlag is at the forefront of adverse effects...

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...