June 12, 2023

Senate Committee Will Hold Rescheduled Hearing on Impacts of Plastic Production and Disposal on Environmental Justice Communities

The Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight will hold a hearing on June 15, 2023, on “Impacts of Plastic Production and Disposal on Environmental Justice Communities.” Originally scheduled for April 27, 2023, witnesses will include: On May 2, 2023, EPA announced the release of a Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution. EPA identified three key objectives for the...
June 12, 2023

EPA Updates TSCA CBI Requirements

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published on June 7, 2023, a final rule with new and amended requirements concerning the assertion and treatment of confidential business information (CBI) claims for information reported to or otherwise obtained by EPA under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 88 Fed. Reg. 37155. The final rule notes that amendments to TSCA in 2016 included many new provisions concerning the assertion, EPA review, and treatment of confidentiality claims....
June 9, 2023

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Toxics Release Inventory Reporting: What is New This Year?,” Chemical Processing, June 9, 2023.

Each year about this time, companies are focused on the deadline to submit Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Companies well acquainted with this reporting ritual have established protocols to collect the data to enable timely reporting. With the July 1, 2023, deadline rapidly approaching, there are a few new reporting features of which to be aware. This column briefly summarizes important new elements....
June 9, 2023

OECD Tour de Table Includes Information on International Developments Regarding Nanomaterials

POSTED IN INTERNATIONAL, LEGAL/REGULATORY ISSUES, OECD The Organization for Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published the latest edition of the Developments in Delegations on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials and Advanced Materials — Tour de Table. The Tour de Table compiles information provided by delegations on the occasion of the 22nd meeting of the OECD Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) in June 2022. Below are highlights on...
June 9, 2023

Maine Governor Signs Bill Postponing PFAS Reporting Requirement

Governor Janet Mills (D) has signed LD 217, “An Act to Support Manufacturers Whose Products Contain Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances” (Act). Passed by the House on June 1, 2023, and the Senate on June 6, 2023, the bill postpones the January 1, 2023, reporting requirement for products and product components containing intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). As reported in our February 17, 2023, memorandum, the Maine Department of Environmental...
June 8, 2023

A Conversation with Shanisha Y. Smith, Esquire

Download transcript This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Shanisha Smith, Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) Counsel for LyondellBasell, about her role as counsel and the rewards and challenges of advising a major chemical producer on HSE legal and product stewardship issues. In our conversation, we learn about Shanisha’s beginnings not far from here on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to now living in Houston and counseling LyondellBasell’s, one of the world’s largest chemical...
June 8, 2023

TSCA Fundamentals, June 6-8, 2023, via webinar

Chemical Watch presents TSCA Fundamentals, a two day course offering in-depth training on the very latest TSCA regulatory and policy developments, their impact and how to anticipate their requirements, comply with the law and remain commercially competitive. Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), and Catherine M. Croke, DBA, Director of Product Stewardship and Regulatory Affairs, B&C, will present. ...
June 8, 2023

Maine Legislature Passes Bill to Postpone PFAS Reporting Requirement

 On June 6, 2023, the Maine Senate passed LD 217, “An Act to Support Manufacturers Whose Products Contain Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances” (Act). Passed by the House on June 1, 2023, the bill would postpone the January 1, 2023, reporting requirement for products and product components containing intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). As reported in our February 17, 2023, memorandum, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) issued a...
June 7, 2023

Navigating Non-Alignment of PFAS Regulation in the EU, UK, and US, June 7, 2023, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (EDT), via webinar

Lexology presents “Navigating Non-Alignment of PFAS Regulation in the EU, UK, and US” with Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®); Jane Southworth, Partner, Eversheds Sutherland LLP; and Koen Van Maldegem, Partner, Fieldfisher LLP presenting. This Masterclass will focus on analysing these frameworks in the EU, UK, and US and on upcoming changes to PFAS regulation. ...
June 7, 2023

Lynn L. Bergeson Quoted by Chemical Watch in Article “NGOs push for rare TSCA order to block Texas company’s plastic fluorination”

On June 5, 2023, Chemical Watch quoted Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), regarding a push from NGO’s for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) to use for the first time its authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) section 5 to block a Texas-based company from using a plastic fluorination process that generates several types of long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).  If the EPA were to make a...