On June 26, 2017, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) issued a summary and analysis of the three final Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) framework rules released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on June 22, 2017, EPA Issues Final TSCA Framework Rules. The final rules include the prioritization process rule, which establishes EPA’s process and criteria for identifying High-Priority chemicals for risk evaluation and Low-Priority chemicals for which risk...
June 27, 2017
TSCA Reform: One Year Later Conference, June 27, 2017, Washington D.C. and via Webinar
The Environmental Law Institute (ELI) and the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health held a day-long "TSCA Reform: One Year Later" conference exploring the federal government’s implementation of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which significantly amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), just over one year after it was signed into law. Speakers discussed key components of the bipartisan...
June 26, 2017
Germany Publishes Meeting Report from Expert Dialogue on Application of Nanotechnologies in the Construction Sector
On June 1, 2017, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety published meeting documents from the Expert Dialogue on “Opportunities and Risks of the Application of Nanotechnologies in the Construction Sector.” The documents include a summary of discussion, meeting agenda, and report, Regulation of construction products and possibilities to address (new) risks from nanomaterials. During the Expert Dialogue, participants...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on June 22, 2017, the pre-publication Federal Register notices of the final framework actions under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), as revised by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (new TSCA). The final rules include the prioritization process rule, which establishes EPA’s process and criteria for identifying High-Priority chemicals for risk evaluation and Low-Priority chemicals for which...
By Kathleen M. Roberts On June 12, 2017, 28 companies representing the advanced and cellulosic biofuel industry sent a letter to the members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee requesting their support for the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act (S. 517), which is scheduled to be marked up in the Environment and Public Works Committee before the August recess. The letter claims that the Act, which would extend the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) waiver to ethanol...
June 23, 2017
NCGA Launches The “Consider Corn Challenge”
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On June 7, 2017, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), along with innovation facilitator NineSigma, announced the launch of a global competition to identify new and innovative uses for corn as a renewable feedstock for making sustainable chemicals with significant market demand. The Consider Corn Challenge is intended to be a starting point to help industry realize the full potential of corn by inspiring new concepts, approaches, and technologies...
June 23, 2017
BIO Announces 2017 Rosalind Franklin Award Winner
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On June 14, 2017, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) announced that biotech industry veteran Vonnie Estes would receive the 4th annual Rosalind Franklin Award for Leadership in Industrial Biotechnology. Estes, an independent business consultant, will be presented the Rosalind Franklin Award for Leadership in Industrial Biotechnology during a lunch plenary session at the BIO World Congress on July 25, 2017. Each year, the award celebrates a...
June 23, 2017
Richard E. Engler Presents On TSCA And Its Effects On Renewable Feedstocks At 2017 GC&E
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On June 15, 2017, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Senior Chemist at Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), presented at Products as Solutions to Real-World Sustainability Challenges: Incentives & Barriers, a session at the 2017 Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference (GC&E). Dr. Engler’s presentation, “TSCA, its effects on renewable feedstocks, and how TSCA reform has changed things,” provided an overview of the Toxic...
June 23, 2017
Weekly Roundup of Other Biobased News
Advanced Biofuels Canada, “New Comprehensive Data Report Released on 2015 Canadian Biofuel Use, Greenhouse Gas Reductions, and Costs” Platts, “Norway Bans Public Procurement of Palm Oil-Based Biofuels” University of Minnesota, “U of M Wastewater Treatment Pilot Promises to Turn Scum into Profit” Cornell Chronicle, “Cornell Engineers Transform Food Waste into Green Energy”
As required by the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), on June 22, 2017, one year after passage of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued the three framework rules in final. EPA also released draft guidance to assist in developing and submitting draft risk evaluations. The final rules are: Procedures for Chemical Risk Evaluation; Procedures for Prioritization of Chemicals for Risk...