All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On January 11, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to amend the 2018 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) fees rule. This column discusses the proposal and its improvements to the rule.

On December 28, 2020, the House overrode President Trump’s veto and passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (H.R. 6395) by a vote of 322 to 87, and the Senate passed the bill on January 1, 2021, by a vote of 81 to 13. Subtitle E of Title II of the Act (Subtitle E) includes the text of the bipartisan Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2019. Subtitle E will establish an interagency working group led by the Office of Science and Technology...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 15, 2021, that it has issued test orders under Section 4 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to obtain additional data on nine of the next 20 chemicals undergoing risk evaluation.  EPA states that after reviewing the available data on these chemicals, it determined additional data are needed and is using its TSCA test order authority to require companies to develop and submit information on environmental hazard and...

On January 12, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that advances collaboration and communication on EPA’s review of new chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  EPA states that the MOU provides a framework for coordination and communication between the two agencies on exposure to new chemicals in the workplace and will help achieve the...

On December 19, 2020, the Department of Health in Canada published in the Canada Gazette, Part I a notice of its intent to amend the Hazardous Products Regulations (HPR). The HPR is the federal level legislation that sets forth the classification, labeling, and Safety Data Sheet (SDS) requirements for hazardous products intended to be used, handled, or stored in workplaces in Canada. The HPR is based on the fifth revised edition (Rev 5) of the United Nations (UN) Globally Harmonized...

On January 8, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the final risk evaluation for 1,4-dioxane. 86 Fed. Reg. 1495. The final risk evaluation identifies unreasonable risk to workers for 13 out of 24 conditions of use. EPA states that it found no unreasonable risk to the general population and the environment. EPA notes that it also published a supplemental analysis to the draft risk evaluation that evaluated eight additional conditions of use for 1,4-dioxane...

On January 11, 2021, the European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) posted a final opinion entitled Scientific Advice on the Safety of Nanomaterials in Cosmetics.  The EC requested that SCCS determine the nanomaterials, as published in the 2019 catalogue of nanomaterials, for which specific concerns can be identified and justified to establish a priority list of nanomaterials for risk assessment (Article 16(4) Reg. 1223/2009).  The final opinion...

On January 11, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule that would amend the 2018 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) fees rule.  86 Fed. Reg. 1890.  Under TSCA, EPA collects fees from chemical manufacturers and processors to help fund implementation and to ensure that public health and the environment continue to be protected.  TSCA requires EPA to review its fees every three years and, after consulting with parties potentially...

This week's All Things Chemical™ Podcast will be of interest to readers of the TSCAblog™. A brief description of the episode written by Lynn L. Bergeson is below. This week I had my final visit with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Assistant Administrator Alexandra Dunn.  As many of our listeners know, Alex Dunn lead the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention and was responsible for implementing the nation’s industrial and agricultural chemical...

On January 12, 2021, Bloomberg Environment & Energy Report featured comments by Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) regarding an agreement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to share trade secrets about chemicals that manufacturers seek to produce or import. Richard E. Engler, director of chemistry with Bergeson and Campbell PC, said...