The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 27, 2021, “important policy shifts in its review of new [per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)] before they can enter the market.” According to EPA, although some new PFAS have been allowed to enter the market through low volume exemptions (LVE), EPA’s New Chemicals Program is implementing a new strategy for reviewing and managing LVE requests for PFAS. EPA states that due to the scientific...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice on April 28, 2021, announcing a 30-day comment period on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Interagency Testing Committee’s (ITC) revisions to the Priority Testing List. 86 Fed. Reg. 22414. In the 74th ITC Report, ITC revised the TSCA Section 4(e) Priority Testing List by adding the following 15 high-priority substances designated pursuant to TSCA Section 6(b) and 24 organohalogen...
On April 21, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the issuance of Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Section 18 emergency exemptions to the states of Georgia, Minnesota, and Utah permitting the use of BiaXamTM B110-V and BiaXamTM B110-P (BiaXam), adhesive film used as supplemental residual surface coating, in Delta Air Lines planes and facilities in those three states. According to the EPA Authorizations...
By Lynn L. Bergeson Under Canada’s New Substances Fees Regulations, fees must be provided with each New Substance Notification (NSN) package submitted under the New Substance Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers). The amount of the fee is dependent on the annual sales in Canada for the notifier, the specific Schedule being submitted, and other services being requested (e.g., confidential search on the Domestic Substances List (DSL) or Non-Domestic Substances List (NDSL) or...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 19, 2021, that Univar Solutions USA, Inc. of Portland, Oregon, will pay a $165,000 penalty for violating the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) when it failed to label properly its “Woodlife 111” pesticide, which is used as a wood preservative. EPA notes that under FIFRA, “a pesticide is misbranded if, ‘the labeling accompanying it does not contain directions for use which are necessary … to...
SAVE THE DATENEW TSCA AT FIVEVirtual ConferenceJune 30, 2021 This June marks the fifth anniversary of the enactment of the game-changing Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg) that amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). With a new Administration and the relentless pace of regulatory developments related to Lautenberg implementation, there are many issues to consider and problems to solve. The Environmental Law Institute (ELI),...
April 21, 2021
Do the OSHA Proposed Amendments to the Hazard Communication Standard Clarify or Create Burden for Stakeholders?
On February 16, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS). On April, 12, 2021, OSHA published a Federal Register notice to extend the comment period of the NPRM to amend the HCS by one month. The HCS is the federal-level regulation that sets forth the classification, labeling, Safety Data Sheet (SDS), and training requirements for hazardous chemicals...
April 21, 2021
Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Eyes Stricter Phosphogypsum Rule,” Chemical Processing, April 21, 2021.
In early April, a Florida pond that sits atop phosphogypsum tailings sprung a leak. State authorities scrambled to keep the pond from collapsing and flooding the surrounding area with millions of gallons of contaminated water. This situation likely wasn’t top of mind on February 8, 2021, when a group of environmental protection advocates prepared and submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a petition under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The petition...
April 21, 2021
Lynn L. Bergeson, “Don’t Ignore Game-Changing EU Environmental Initiatives,” Bloomberg Law Insights, April 21, 2021.
Two developments in the European Union in 2020 involving chemical regulations will almost certainly impact U.S. chemical stakeholders, according to Lynn L. Bergeson, managing partner of Bergeson & Campbell P.C. One initiative restricts certain chemicals in order to comply with the European Green Deal, while the other amends chemical disclosure requirements, she explains.
April 20, 2021
NIA Publishes Position Paper on Changing Regulatory Landscape and Language for the Nanoscale
The Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) has published a March 2021 position paper, A changing regulatory landscape and language for the nanoscale, that examines the transition from “nanomaterial” to “nanoforms” to reflect better the differences in nanomaterial properties both in relation to bulk counterparts and to nanoforms of the same substance. In the paper, NIA describes a transition phase where the language of nanoforms is used more widely and examples of nanoform...