February 6, 2020

Are You Potentially Responsible for TSCA Fees? EPA Issues Preliminary Lists of Companies Responsible for TSCA Risk Evaluation Fees

This week, I sat down with my colleague, Dr. Richard Engler, Bergeson & Campbell’s Director of Chemistry, to discuss what the fuss is over EPA’s January 27, 2020, issuance of a “preliminary list” of companies responsible for the $1,350,000 per-chemical fee EPA charges to conduct a risk evaluation of a high-priority chemical under TSCA Section 6.  The scope of the entities “on the hook” is far broader than expected, and companies with little understanding of...
January 15, 2020

Bergeson & Campbell’s Forecast 2020

This week, I sat down with my colleagues Sheryl Lindros Dolan, Chris Bryant, and Dr. Richard Engler to discuss our fabulous 2020 Forecast, B&C’s and The Acta Group’s (Acta®) richly detailed overview of key trends in U.S. and global chemical law and policy. This 67-page document provides a comprehensive “one-stop” overview of global initiatives for the New Year of which stakeholders in the global chemical market must be aware. My colleagues provide a spirited overview...
December 19, 2019

RCRA Rundown: Hazardous Waste and Sustainable Removal

This week, I sat down with my colleague Christopher Bryant, a Senior Regulatory Consultant here at Bergeson & Campbell. Chris has over 25 years of experience in environmental, health, and safety compliance, and, in particular, hazardous waste management and regulation under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). I asked Chris to the studio to speak with me about RCRA:  what it is, how the law has developed, what is covered under it, and how...
November 21, 2019

Waiting for Lautenberg: A Conversation with Jim Jones

This week, I sat down with Jim Jones, Executive Vice President Strategic Alliances & Industry Relations at the HCPA, or Household & Commercial Products Association. Before moving into the private sector, as many of our listeners know, Jim served a long and very distinguished career with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. Jim began his career in the toxics office, specifically in pesticides, and eventually served as Assistant Administrator of the Office of...
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...