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On March 13, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule that would update the pesticide Application Exclusion Zone (AEZ) requirements under the 2015 Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS). 88 Fed. Reg. 15346. The proposed rule is available at EPA-HQ-OPP-2022-0133, and comments on the proposed rule are due on or before May 12, 2023. Application Exclusion Zone According to EPA’s press release, the WPS regulations offer protections to...

The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) has issued a call for study proposals. EUON is looking for studies on: Questions related to the health and safety aspects of nanomaterials, including hazard and risk assessment, exposure to nanomaterials, or worker safety and protection; Specific issues surrounding the uses of nanomaterials; or Information about markets for nanomaterials (e.g., the market for specific materials such as graphene or specific market sectors)....

The National Science and Technology Council announced on March 14, 2023, that the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a state of science report on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The report was prepared by the interagency PFAS Strategy Team created by OSTP at the direction of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021. It provides an analysis of the state of the science of PFAS and information that will...

Download transcript. This week, I sat down with Dr. Tina N. Armstrong, a Vice President with Arcadis U.S., Inc., to discuss the role of product stewardship in business organizations today. To those of us in this space, Tina is a rock star. In addition to her role as a business leader and scientist at Arcadis, Tina is a professor in product stewardship strategy and management at the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, an author of many books and articles on...

On March 14, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will propose the first-ever national drinking water standard for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the latest action under EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap. The proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) would regulate perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) as individual contaminants and will regulate four other PFAS --...

On March 8, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of $16 million for two new grant opportunities to support states and Tribes in providing technical assistance to businesses seeking to develop and adopt pollution prevention (P2) practices that advance environmental justice in underserved communities. The Request for Applications for P2 investments include the Pollution Prevention Grant: Environmental Justice Through Safer and More Sustainable...

On March 9, 2023, President Biden released his fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) March 9, 2023, press release, the budget requests over $12 billion in discretionary budget authority for EPA in FY 2024, a $1.9 billion or 19 percent increase from the FY 2023 enacted level. Highlights of the FY 2024 budget include: Ensuring Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment: The budget provides an investment of $130 million, $49...

 By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On March 8, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of $16 million for two new grant opportunities to support states and Tribes in providing technical assistance to businesses seeking to develop and adopt pollution prevention (P2) practices that advance environmental justice in underserved communities. The Request for Applications for P2 investments include the Pollution Prevention Grant: Environmental...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has opened registration for the second of its two-part webinar series on EPA’s new standardized process to assess risk and apply mitigation measures, as appropriate, for mixed metal oxides (MMO), including new and modified cathode active materials (CAM). The webinar, which will be held March 30, 2023, will give an in-depth look into the standardized risk assessment approach and present various case scenarios and a decision tree for identifying...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) held a webinar on February 7, 2023, to present the methods described in Test Guideline (TG) No. 125 to determine the size and size distributions of nanomaterial particles and fibers spanning from one nanometer (nm) to 1,000 nm. It also presented the use and limitations of this TG, as well as of the validation exercise that was done to support its development. OECD organized the webinar to increase awareness of the newly adopted...