All Knowledge & Insights By Date

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On April 9, 2022, researchers from the University of Groningen’s Stratingh Institute for Chemistry and the Department of Chemistry, Organic and Bioorganic Chemistry at the University of Graz, published a study in the journal Green Chemistry titled “A molecular motor from lignocellulose.” The study explores lignin’s use as the largest natural source of functionalized aromatics on the planet and its inherent...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.’s (B&C®) May 18, 2022, webinar “Domestic Chemical Regulation and Achieving Circularity” is now available for on-demand viewing at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/2013797750853340422. During this one-hour webinar, Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, B&C, moderated a timely and fascinating review of the state of sustainable chemical regulation in the United States with Kate Sellers, Technical Fellow, ERM; Mathy Stanislaus, Vice Provost,...

As reported in our March 25, 2022, blog item, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 24, 2022, that it issued a second round of test orders under Section 4 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to obtain additional data on eight of the next 20 chemicals undergoing risk evaluation. In April 2022, EPA issued corrections to the following test orders: EPA amended Appendix D — Order Recipient Selection. Appendix D referred...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has made recent improvements to its chemicals database. For nanomaterials on the European Union (EU) market, the details page of the database now includes information on the nanomaterial form characterization. According to ECHA, the results page also has an improved display, allowing better access to the data and improved user interaction options. Other improvements to the database include:...

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change held a hearing on May 17, 2022, on the fiscal year (FY) 2023 budget for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies held a separate hearing on May 18, 2022. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan was the only witness at each hearing. The hearings included questions about EPA’s implementation of the...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on May 19, 2022, the availability of the meeting minutes and final report for the March 15-17, 2022, Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) virtual meeting regarding EPA’s proposed Screening Level Approach for Assessing Ambient Air and Water Exposures to Fenceline Communities Version 1.0 under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). According to the meeting minutes and final report, SACC “agreed that the methodological...

In February 2022, France and the United States announced their commitment to protect our shared environment for future generations against the harm resulting plastic pollution.Both nations stated their united recognition of the transboundary impacts of plastic pollution and the importance of mitigating plastic waste at its source. On March 2, 2022, as reported by the 5th UN Environment Assembly (UNAE-5.2) in Nairobi, both France and the United States, along with 173 other...

On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed into law the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Public Law 117-58, 135 Stat. 429. Section 80201 of the IIJA reinstates the Superfund excise tax on certain chemical substances under Sections 4661 and 4671 of the Internal Revenue Code (Tax Code), effective July 1, 2022. Section 80201(c)(1) of the IIJA modified the method for determining whether a substance is a taxable substance by lowering the required...

The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) has posted “important information” for the 2022 reporting period under R-Nano, France’s national reporting scheme for substances in nanoparticle form. ANSES states that it is asking providers to give an updated declaration number to their customers upon request, “even if they have no declaration to perform.” To do so, providers “must ‘duplicate’ the substance identity information...