All Knowledge & Insights By Date

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is accepting public comments on the experts under consideration for membership on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC).  Biographies of the candidates are available in Docket ID EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-0135.  Comments are due August 21, 2020.  EPA states that it will use public comments to assist it in selecting multiple members of SACC over the next year.  EPA expects to appoint approximately 15...

This week I sat down with Congressman John M. Shimkus, a Member of the United States House of Representatives for the 15th District of Illinois.  As listeners of the podcast know well, Congressman Shimkus is a senior Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  In this capacity, Congressman Shimkus has become a rock star in the industrial chemical community, given his tireless efforts to modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) , which of course resulted in...

The July 2020 issue of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Environmental Factor includes an item on a new database that facilitates nanomaterial research.  According to the article, NIEHS grantees constructed PubVINAS, “a large database of structure, chemical property, and activity information on 705 nanomaterials, covering 11 material types.”  The article states that the extensive data on each material “allows scientists...

On June 30, 2020, the Trump Administration released the Spring 2020 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  According to the Unified Agenda, the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) is working on several rulemakings under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  Rulemakings at the proposed stage are listed below: Review of Dust-Lead Post-Abatement Clearance Levels.  On June 24,...

Chemical manufacturers and processors have just over four months to submit Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) data by the November 30, 2020, close of the reporting period. To assist companies in that process, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) affiliate The Acta Group (Acta®) developed CDR Cross-Check™, an ingenious and cost-efficient tool to identify whether a company’s chemicals are subject to CDR reporting and if so, at what reporting threshold. CDR Cross-Check will identify:...

On May 9, 2020, the European Commission (EC) began a public consultation on a roadmap for “Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability.” The roadmap states that the regulatory framework on chemicals needs to be strengthened to increase further the level of protection of human health and the environment -- in particular from exposure to endocrine disruptors; combinations of chemicals; hazardous chemicals in products, including in imports; and very persistent chemicals. The regulatory...

On July 16, 2020, a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGO) filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final risk evaluation for methylene chloride.  The NGOs seek review of EPA’s determination “that the chemical methylene chloride does not present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment under certain conditions of use” and its decision not to consider “certain uses...

On July 7, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of new guidance (Guidance) for registrants of products on or eligible for inclusion on List N, EPA’s list of disinfectant products that EPA has concluded meet EPA’s criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.  This new guidance provides expedited procedures for those registrants that wish to add electrostatic application methods to their disinfectant product...

On June 19, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) extended the comment period on its June 11, 2020, proposed rulemaking “Increasing Consistency and Transparency in Considering Benefits and Costs in the Clean Air Act Rulemaking Process.” 85 Fed. Reg. 37057. Comments are due August 3, 2020. EPA held a virtual public hearing on the proposed rulemaking on July 1, 2020, to provide interested parties the opportunity to present data, views, or arguments concerning EPA's proposed...