October 31, 2019

How Do We Know if a New Technology Is Safe?

This week, I moderated a spirited discussion with two members of the B&C team: Sheryl Dolan, a senior regulatory consultant who specializes in agricultural and biocidal chemical product registration and defense, and Dr. Richard Engler, our Director of Chemistry and a 17-year-veteran of EPA.  Both Sheryl and Rich are expert in marshaling new product chemical technologies through the gauntlet of federal, state, and international chemical product approval. Throughout our discussion,...
October 10, 2019

Food Quality, New TSCA, and Much More: A Conversation with Lynn R. Goldman, Dean, Milken Institute School of Public Health at GWU

Dr. Goldman is widely regarded as one of the most influential public health physicians of our time and served as Assistant Administrator for Toxic Substances in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 1993 through 1998 under President Bill Clinton.  During her tenure, Dr. Goldman and her team are credited with implementing the 1996 amendments to our nation’s pesticide law, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act or FIFRA, known as the Food Quality Protection...
September 19, 2019

South Korea’s K-REACH: Why it Matters for Everyone with Karin Baron

This week, we have B&C’s and The Acta Group’s Senior Regulatory Consultant, Karin Baron, back in the studio to discuss K-REACH, its recent amendment, and potential harmonization of chemical regulations in the region.  K-REACH is the South Korean government’s industrial chemical substance registration program signed into law in 2013, and effective in 2015. Karin is uniquely well-suited to provide practice tips and information on why our listeners should be aware of...
September 5, 2019

Celebrating the Environmental Law Institute’s 50th Anniversary with President Scott Fulton

This week, I sat down with Scott Fulton, President of the Environmental Law Institute, on the occasion of ELI’s 50th anniversary. Scott is ELI’s 5th President. As a former ELI Board member myself and a practicing lawyer in the environmental space, I have known Scott for years given his many high profile roles as a former EPA General Counsel, Assistant Chief of the Environmental Enforcement Section at the U.S. Department of Justice, among other prominent positions. In...
August 15, 2019

All Things Nano with Lisa E. Friedersdorf, Ph.D.

This week, I sat down with Dr. Lisa E. Friedersdorf, the Director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (or NNCO) to discuss all things nano. For anyone in the nano space, Lisa is a rock star and well known to all. To those less familiar, Lisa joined NNCO several years ago, having served as the Associate Director of the Materials Research Center at Lehigh University and Director of the Industry Liaison Program. Lisa was also Director of the...
July 25, 2019

Food Security and World Hunger with Katherine Meighan, International Fund for Agricultural Development 

Last October, at the Annual Meeting of the International Bar Association in Rome, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Katherine Meighan, the General Counsel of IFAD, the International Fund for Agricultural Development.  Katherine gave an eye-opening presentation at the IBA conference on IFAD’s efforts to address the issue of food security and world hunger, and I knew I had to have her on the podcast to share her message and to dig deeper into her work...
June 20, 2019

Environmental Compliance and Enforcement with Environmental Integrity Projects’ Eric Schaeffer

This week, I sat down with a highly-regarded member of the environmental NGO community, Eric Schaeffer, who currently serves as the Executive Director of the Environmental Integrity Project, which he co-founded in 2002. Previously, Eric worked for more than a decade at EPA, including a five-year stint as the Director of EPA’s Office of Civil Enforcement, which, as you will hear in our conversation, was a very formative time for his thinking. At a time...
May 28, 2019

Inside OCSPP with EPA Assistant Administrator Alexandra Dapolito Dunn

I am so pleased to present a very special guest this week, the Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP):  Alexandra Dunn.  Alex’s professional training could not be more perfect.  Alex is a lawyer and has practiced in both the private and non-profit sectors.  Alex has taught environmental law at several law schools and, while Dean of Environmental Law Programs at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University,...
April 25, 2019

Innovation and New Chemicals in the TSCA Program

We have a repeat guest this week: fan favorite, Dr. Richard Engler, Bergeson & Campbell’s Director of Chemistry and Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) guru-in-residence.  I sat down with Rich to find out more about so-called “New Chemicals” and the challenges faced by not only new chemical manufacturers, but also by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in trying to fulfill its duties as a regulatory gatekeeper. As a seasoned veteran of EPA himself, where...
April 11, 2019

Ambassador Howard Gutman on What Every CEO Needs to Know Right Now

This week, I invited my friend and business colleague, the former U.S. Ambassador to Belgium, Howard Gutman, into the studio to talk about what every CEO needs to know about the world right now. I know I say this a lot, but it is really true this time around:  We covered a lot of ground in this conversation.  Howard provides his perspective on what to pay attention to with regard to Brexit, energy policy, climate...