All Knowledge & Insights By Date

Early in October, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released important revisions to its Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (Green Guides) to make them easier for companies to use and understand.

The December 30, 2010, issue of BNA Daily Environment Report quotes Lynn L. Bergeson regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's significant new use rule (SNUR) for the refrigerant known as HFO-1234yf. According to Bergeson, the final rule was based on an entirely new risk assessment and data first made available for review when the SNUR was issued on October 27, 2010, meaning EPA promulgated the SNUR without adequate notice and comment, in violation of the Administrative Procedure...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) December 20, 2010, Regulatory Agenda includes several notices concerning nanoscale materials: Test Rule for Certain Nanoscale Materials — EPA states that it is developing a test rule under Section 4(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to require manufacturers (defined by statute to include importers) and processors of the multiwall carbon nanotube described in Premanufacture Notice (PMN) P-08-199, certain clays (e.g., kaolin...

Australia’s National Industrial Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) recently issued guidance on the new chemical requirements for the notification and assessment of industrial nanomaterials that are considered to be new chemicals. The new administrative arrangements will be effective from January 1, 2011, and will apply to any new chemical that falls under the following working definition of “industrial nanomaterial”: . . . industrial materials...

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released a December 23, 2010, letter from Linda S. Adams, California's Secretary for Environmental Protection to Assembly Member Mike Feuer, the author of the 2008 law (A.B. 1879) that would require regulations to address chemicals and chemical ingredients in consumer products. In the letter, Secretary Adams responded to Feuer's letter outlining his concerns about the DTSC's November 16, 2010, release of revisions to its "Safer...

The Switzerland State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has posted a December 21, 2010, guidance document for preparing safety data sheets (SDS) for synthetic nanomaterials. Safety Data Sheet (SDS): Guidelines for Synthetic Nanomaterials is intended to demonstrate the information necessary to ensure the safe handling of nano-objects and products that contain nano-objects; offer assistance on how the relevant information can be identified and in which form and which place...

On December 21, 2010, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (CDTSC) issued a data call-in (DCI) for information regarding analytical test methods, and other relevant information, from manufacturers of nano silver, nano zero valent iron, nano titanium dioxide, nano zinc oxide, nano cerium oxide, and quantum dots. According to CDTSC, Health and Safety Code Section 57018(a)(4) defines a “manufacturer” as a “person who produces a chemical in this state or imports a chemical...

On December 6-7, 2010, the State Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Issues Research & Evaluation Group (SFIREG) held its semi-annual full committee meeting at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) offices in Arlington, Virginia. Through a cooperative agreement in 1978, EPA and the Association of American Pesticide Control Officials (AAPCO) created SFIREG, an AAPCO committee with EPA funding, to promote information exchange and cooperation between the...

On December 8, 2010, the European Commission (EC) Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) approved its opinion on the scientific basis for the definition of the term “nanomaterial.” The opinion concludes that: Whereas physical and chemical properties of materials may change with size, there is no scientific justification for a single upper and lower size limit associated with these changes that can be applied to define adequately all...

On December 17, 2010, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued proposed regulations that would specify hazard traits, environmental and toxicological endpoints, and other relevant data that are to be included in the Toxics Information Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse) the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (CDTSC) will develop. CDTSC will use information from the Clearinghouse to help identify chemicals of concern in consumer products as part of...