On July 29, 2024, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) announced that it will move forward with an emergency rulemaking package to revise the fees for pesticide registrations and renewals in late August with a proposed effective date of no later than October 1, 2024. DPR states the fee increase is necessary to meet current baseline funding needs and the new positions approved as part of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024-2025 budget. DPR states that the Governor’s Proposed 2024-2025...
August 5, 2024
CPSC Finds Amazon Responsible under CPSA for Hazardous Products Sold by Third-Party Sellers on Amazon.com
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced on July 30, 2024, that it issued a Decision and Order against Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon). CPSC states that, in a unanimous vote, it “determined that Amazon was a ‘distributor’ of products that are defective or fail to meet federal consumer product safety standards, and therefore bears legal responsibility for their recall.” According to CPSC, more than 400,000 products are subject to the Order, specifically faulty carbon...
August 2, 2024
NIOSH NTRC Investigates Explosivity of Nanomaterials
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) posted a blog item on August 1, 2024, entitled “When Nanoparticles Blow Up -- Explosion Hazards of Nanoparticles.” According to the blog item, little is known about the potential explosivity of any material when subdivided down to the nanoscale, prompting the NIOSH Nanotechnology Research Center (NTRC) to study the explosivity of several classes of nanoparticles: Nanocarbons: NIOSH screened single-walled carbon nanotubes,...
The Society for Chemical Hazard Communication Annual Meeting features an esteemed slate of speakers and subject matter experts presenting during general sessions and professional development courses. Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, B&C, will present the "Navigating the Premanufacture Notice (PMN) Process Under Amended TSCA" workshop on Monday, September 23, 2024. Karin F. Baron, MSPH, Director of Hazard Communication and International Registration Strategy, B&C, will...
Chemical Watch presents FIFRA Fundamentals, a two-day training about registration requirements for pesticides under the US Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and regulatory requirements for pesticide production, importation and distribution. Lisa R. Burchi, Of Counsel, B&C; Meibao Zhuang, Senior Scientist/Regulatory Consultant, B&C; Heather F. Collins, MS, Regulatory Consultant, B&C; and Dana S. Lateulere, Regulatory Consultant, B&C, will present.
On July 31, 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced the release of the first two parts of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) State-of-Industry Report. Released by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in partnership with BETO, the report focuses on how to achieve the near-term fuel production goals set forth in the SAF Grand Challenge, a joint effort between DOE, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Department of...
The 2024 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Nanotechnology Research Center (NTRC) Nanotechnology Health and Safety Summit will be held October 9-10, 2024. During the conference, industry, academic, and government experts will share the latest advancements in occupational exposure to nanotechnology and advanced materials. The conference will also address critical safety and health challenges and offer valuable insights and foresights on a range of cutting-edge topics,...
The Agile BioFoundry’s (ABF) 2024 Industry Day will be held virtually on September 12, 2024. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), ABF aims to develop biomanufacturing tools, processes, and partnerships that enable sustainable industrial production of renewable fuels and chemicals. Attendees will: Learn about ABF’s strategy to support U.S. biomanufacturing and current industry needs; Discover ABF’s biomanufacturing tools; Hear more about...
July 30, 2024
CEH and PEER File Suit Seeking TSCA Section 6 Rule Prohibiting Production of PFOA During Fluorination of Plastic Containers
On July 25, 2024, the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking a rule under Section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to prohibit the production of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) during Inhance Technologies, LLC’s (Inhance) fluorination process. As reported in our May 23, 2024, blog item on their...