June 13, 2023

Speakers and Sessions Announced, Registration Open for “TSCA Reform — Seven Years Later” Virtual Conference, 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. EDT June 29, 2023

8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. EDTJune 29, 2023 REGISTER NOW The full program, including session details and confirmed speakers for the 7th annual Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) conference, “TSCA Reform -- Seven Years Later,” is detailed below. This timely and essential day-long virtual conference will provide updates on risk evaluation, risk management, new chemical review, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and more.Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), the Environmental Law...
June 13, 2023

Bicameral Bill Would Establish Consortium to Identify Safer Chemicals

On May 18, 2023, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced the Supercomputing for Safer Chemicals (SUPERSAFE) Act (S. 1685, H.R. 3457). According to Padilla’s May 18, 2023, press release, the legislation would establish a SUPERSAFE Consortium led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “to identify chemicals that are safe to use in commerce through science-backed decision making.” The press release states that the bill would direct the use...
June 12, 2023

DPR Issues Notice on Pesticide Program Annual Processing Timelines

On June 8, 2023, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) issued Notice 2023-07: Pesticide Registration Program Annual Processing Timelines. Under Notice 2023-07, DPR sets forth its annual report summarizing the past five years of registration and post-registration activities. This includes the number of pesticide product registration and amendment submissions received and processed, and average number of days to complete different types of registration submissions are also...
June 12, 2023

Senate Committee Will Hold Rescheduled Hearing on Impacts of Plastic Production and Disposal on Environmental Justice Communities

The Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight will hold a hearing on June 15, 2023, on “Impacts of Plastic Production and Disposal on Environmental Justice Communities.” Originally scheduled for April 27, 2023, witnesses will include: Angelle Bradford, Doctoral student in physiology and medicine at Tulane University School of Medicine, Volunteer Sierra Club Delta Chapter; Sharon Lavigne, Founder,...
June 12, 2023

EPA Updates TSCA CBI Requirements

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published on June 7, 2023, a final rule with new and amended requirements concerning the assertion and treatment of confidential business information (CBI) claims for information reported to or otherwise obtained by EPA under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 88 Fed. Reg. 37155. The final rule notes that amendments to TSCA in 2016 included many new provisions concerning the assertion, EPA review, and treatment of confidentiality claims....
June 9, 2023

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Toxics Release Inventory Reporting: What is New This Year?,” Chemical Processing, June 9, 2023.

Each year about this time, companies are focused on the deadline to submit Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Companies well acquainted with this reporting ritual have established protocols to collect the data to enable timely reporting. With the July 1, 2023, deadline rapidly approaching, there are a few new reporting features of which to be aware. This column briefly summarizes important new elements.
June 9, 2023

OECD Tour de Table Includes Information on International Developments Regarding Nanomaterials

POSTED IN INTERNATIONAL, LEGAL/REGULATORY ISSUES, OECD The Organization for Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published the latest edition of the Developments in Delegations on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials and Advanced Materials — Tour de Table. The Tour de Table compiles information provided by delegations on the occasion of the 22nd meeting of the OECD Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) in June 2022. Below are highlights on...
June 9, 2023

Maine Governor Signs Bill Postponing PFAS Reporting Requirement

Governor Janet Mills (D) has signed LD 217, “An Act to Support Manufacturers Whose Products Contain Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances” (Act). Passed by the House on June 1, 2023, and the Senate on June 6, 2023, the bill postpones the January 1, 2023, reporting requirement for products and product components containing intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). As reported in our February 17, 2023, memorandum, the Maine Department of Environmental...
June 8, 2023

A Conversation with Shanisha Y. Smith, Esquire

Download transcript This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Shanisha Smith, Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) Counsel for LyondellBasell, about her role as counsel and the rewards and challenges of advising a major chemical producer on HSE legal and product stewardship issues. In our conversation, we learn about Shanisha’s beginnings not far from here on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to now living in Houston and counseling LyondellBasell’s, one of the world’s largest chemical...
June 8, 2023

TSCA Fundamentals, June 6-8, 2023, via webinar

Chemical Watch presents TSCA Fundamentals, a two day course offering in-depth training on the very latest TSCA regulatory and policy developments, their impact and how to anticipate their requirements, comply with the law and remain commercially competitive. Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), and Catherine M. Croke, DBA, Director of Product Stewardship and Regulatory Affairs, B&C, will present.