On October 23, 2025, the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight held a hearing on “Examining the Beneficial Use and Regulation of Chemicals.” The Subcommittee heard from the following witnesses: Peter Huntsman, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Huntsman Corporation (written testimony); Dr. Gwen Gross, Senior Technical Fellow, The Boeing Company (written testimony); and Dr. Tracey...
Chemical Watch presents TSCA Developments 2026, covering TSCA and its business-critical implications, including risk evaluation and management rules, TSCA fee rule and funding uncertainty, enforcement and legal challenges, and industry concerns. Lynn L. Bergeson will present "Legal risks and compliance strategies for the PFAS reporting rule."
Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®) are pleased to announce that Ryan N. Schmit has joined our firms. A 15-year veteran of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), Mr. Schmit worked on the front lines of EPA’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) implementation efforts, including significant and precedent-setting policy matters regarding the establishment of TSCA procedural frameworks; new...
On October 14, 2025, the Australia Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS) announced that it has initiated an evaluation on the introduction and use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Australia under Section 74 of the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 (IC Act). According to AICIS, the evaluation will review the 522 PFAS listed on the Australian Inventory of Industrial Chemicals. The evaluation will confirm whether the listed PFAS have been introduced in Australia, and if so,...
October 23, 2025
U.S. State PFAS Initiatives — A Conversation with Richard E. Engler, Ph.D. and Carla N. Hutton
October 22, 2025
EC Begins a Public Consultation to Collect Evidence on Upcoming Advanced Materials Act
On October 21, 2025, the European Commission (EC) announced that it has called for evidence and begun a public consultation on the upcoming Advanced Materials Act, “a key initiative under the Competitiveness Compass.” According to the EC, the Act will establish a strategic framework for the development, deployment, and production of advanced materials. The EC states that advanced materials “are intentionally designed and engineered materials with innovative properties and functionalities,...
As the federal government endures another prolonged shutdown, uncertainty is rippling through every agency, with the impact clearly visible at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). With only a fraction of staff on duty and most routine operations halted, the chemical and pesticide regulatory landscape faces a new round of challenges in both the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) and the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP). EPA’s September 29, 2025, contingency plan...
October 21, 2025
EPA Releases Reports as Part of Agency Efforts to Optimize Pesticide Registration Processes
On October 9, 2025, as part of the reauthorization mandates of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2022 (PRIA 5), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of two reports prepared from the result of third-party audits that evaluated pesticide registration processes and functions conducted by EPA. According to EPA, the first report provides the results of the audit that focused on assessing the operational performance of EPA’s Office of Pesticide...
October 21, 2025
James V. Aidala Quoted in NYT Article “From Industry to E.P.A.: Lobbyist Now Oversees Pesticide Rules”
On October 21, 2025, comments by James V. Aidala were featured in The New York Times’s article regarding Kyle Kunkler's appointment as Deputy Assistant Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). James V. Aidala, who headed E.P.A.’s chemical-safety office under President Bill Clinton, said Mr. Kunkler could bring a much-needed agricultural industry perspective. “Coming from a farm group, he’ll have...
October 20, 2025
Senate Subcommittee Will Hold Hearing on “Examining the Beneficial Use and Regulation of Chemicals”
On October 23, 2025, the Environment and Public Works Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight Subcommittee will hold a hearing on “Examining the Beneficial Use and Regulation of Chemicals.” The Committee is scheduled to hear from the following witnesses: Peter Huntsman, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Huntsman Corporation; Dr. Gwen Gross, Senior Technical Fellow, The Boeing Company; and Dr. Tracey Woodruff, Professor and Director,...