November 15, 2023

Monthly Update for November 2023

TSCA/FIFRA/TRI EPA Seeks Public Comment On Whether To Limit The Scope Of The Treated Article Exemption: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) on October 12, 2023, soliciting public comment and suggestions on specific issues related to seed treated with conventional pesticides (treated seed) and paint treated with conventional or antimicrobial pesticides (treated paint). 88 Fed. Reg. 70625. According to the ANPRM, EPA is...
May 22, 2023

PFAS – What to Know Now, and What to Expect

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are attracting global legal, regulatory, commercial, and litigation attention as no other “emerging contaminant” has. Companies producing, processing, distributing, and/or using these substances must be aware of global legal and scientific developments and take steps now to minimize legal, regulatory, and commercial risk. Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and its global consulting affiliate The Acta Group (Acta®) have prepared...
December 8, 2023

EC Committee Begins Public Consultation on Its Preliminary Opinion for Titanium Dioxide

On December 5, 2023, the European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) began a public consultation on its preliminary opinion on titanium dioxide. Comments on the preliminary opinion are due February 6, 2024. The preliminary opinion includes the following questions from the EC and SCCS’s conclusions: Q: In light of the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) opinion on genotoxicity concerns for E171, does SCCS consider titanium dioxide safe in oral cosmetic...
December 7, 2023

B&C Publishes New FIFRA Tutor® Courses and Updates TSCA Tutor® Courses

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is pleased to announce the publication of updates and additions to the B&C online regulatory training platform. All courses can be accessed at https://training.lawbc.com/. TSCA Tutor® B&C has updated the content in T101 — An Overview of TSCA and T204 — Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) to reflect updated Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) implementation information and the upcoming 2024 CDR period. FIFRA Tutor® B&C has...
December 7, 2023

EPA Issues Orders to Inhance Technologies Related to Long-Chain PFAS SNUNs

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on December 1, 2023, that it issued orders to Inhance Technologies LLC directing it not to produce per- and polyfluroakyl substances (PFAS), “chemicals that are created in the production of its fluorinated high-density polyethylene [high-density polyethylene (HDPE)] plastic containers.” EPA states that in December 2022, Inhance submitted significant new use notices (SNUN) for nine long-chain PFAS. According to EPA, “[u]pon review of...
December 7, 2023

Bipartisan House Legislation Would Support Biofuels and Biomanufacturing Innovation

On November 14, 2023, Representatives Nikki Budzinski (D-IL) and Zach Nunn (R-IA) introduced bipartisan legislation that would increase biofuel production and reduce energy costs. The Agricultural Biorefinery Innovation and Opportunity (Ag BIO) Act (H.R. 6413) would increase funding for grants to support innovation in the biofuels and bioproducts industry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance program offers...
December 7, 2023

Lynn L. Bergeson and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D. Quoted in Chemical Watch Article “Update to TSCA risk evaluation rule would be ‘sea change’ for existing chemicals programme”

On December 6, 2023, comments by Lynn L. Bergeson and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D. were featured in Chemical Watch’s article on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent proposal to overhaul its 2017 risk evaluation ‘framework’ rule. Lynn Bergeson and Rich Engler of Bergeson & Campbell said their primary concern centres around the proposal to remove scientific definitions like ‘best available science’ and ‘weight of the scientific evidence’ from the...
December 6, 2023

White House OSTP and NNCO Announce Series of Events in Celebration of 20th Anniversary of the Authorization of the NNI

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) announced on December 4, 2023, a series of events to drive U.S. leadership in nanotechnology, in celebration of the 20-year anniversary of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act. The announcement notes that for the past two decades, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) “has worked with more than 20 departments and agencies to advance a vision...
December 5, 2023

EPA Proposes Updates Intended to Strengthen the Safer Choice Standard

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced proposed updates to the Safer Choice Standard on November 13, 2023. According to the November 14, 2023, notice, the proposed changes include a name change to the Safer Choice and Design for the Environment (DfE) Standard (Standard), an update to the packaging criteria, the addition of a Safer Choice certification for cleaning service providers, a provision allowing for preterm partnership termination under exceptional circumstances, and...
December 4, 2023

APHIS Announces Determination of Nonregulated Status for Insect-Resistant and Herbicide-Tolerant Maize

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) “advis[ed] the public” on December 1, 2023, of its determination that DP23211 maize (corn) that has been developed using genetic engineering for insect resistance to western corn rootworm and contains the gene that codes for the phosphinothricin acetyltransferase protein responsible for tolerance to glufosinate-ammonium herbicides, as well as the gene that encodes for the phosphomannose isomerase...
December 4, 2023

Lynn L. Bergeson and Christopher Blunck Quoted in Chemical Watch Article “US EPA issues rare TSCA orders to prohibit PFAS produced in plastic fluorination”

On December 4, 2023, comments by Lynn L. Bergeson and Christopher Blunck were featured in Chemical Watch’s article regarding a TSCA section 5(f) orders prohibiting Texas-based Inhance Technologies from producing certain PFAS when fluorinating plastic containers, a move the company said will threaten its “very existence” and affect thousands of downstream businesses. According to Bergeson & Campbell managing partner Lynn Bergeson, the severity of the remedy (cessation of...
December 1, 2023

NREL AI Tool Predicts How to Achieve Polymer Properties with Biomass

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced on November 27, 2023, that a machine learning tool developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), with support from BETO, makes it easier for material scientists to “mak[e] polymers more sustainable and higher performing — especially with the reliance on petrochemicals for making plastics.” According to BETO, using artificial intelligence (AI), PolyID: Polymer Inverse Design™ “can...