On April 20, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that EPA Administrator Wheeler has requested that the Science Advisory Board (SAB) provide feedback on research needs concerning SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19). This research is intended to help EPA understand and mitigate the environmental and human health impacts from COVID-19, and identifies EPA research that is already underway as well as new EPA research that has been proposed. EPA issued...
Archives
April 24, 2020
EPA Announces Its Continued Efforts to Provide Critical Information on Safe Disinfectant Use During COVID-19 Crisis
On April 23, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is continuing efforts to provide critical information on surface disinfectant products that can be used against SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. EPA states that it now has nearly 400 products that have qualified to be effective against SARS-CoV-2. EPA also published an overview of its actions and resources related to disinfection against the novel coronavirus. EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and...
April 23, 2020
EPA Remarks That Requirements to Notify EPA of Certain Changes to Disinfectants During COVID-19 May Be Retained
On April 22, 2020, Assistant Administrator Alexandra Dapolito Dunn stated, on prerecorded remarks posted by the American Bar Association, that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), after the coronavirus crisis subsides, will review whether some of the current requirements to submit notifications or label amendments are necessary. Some of these requirements have been suspended as part of EPA’s efforts to hasten the process for disinfectants approved for use against SARS-CoV-2,...
April 22, 2020
Chemical Distribution in the Time of COVID-19 — A Conversation with Eric R. Byer, NACD
Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is pleased to release a timely episode of the All Things Chemical™ podcast, “Chemical Distribution in the Time of COVID-19 — A Conversation with Eric R. Byer, NACD.” In this episode, Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, B&C, and Eric Byer, President and CEO of the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD), sat down to discuss current challenges facing small and large chemical distributors, and how NACD member...
April 22, 2020
Chemical Distribution in the Time of COVID-19 — A Conversation with Eric R. Byer, NACD
Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is pleased to release a timely episode of the All Things Chemical™ podcast, “Chemical Distribution in the Time of COVID-19 — A Conversation with Eric R. Byer, NACD.” In this episode, Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, B&C, and Eric Byer, President and CEO of the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD), sat down to discuss current challenges facing small and large chemical distributors, and how NACD member...
April 17, 2020
Department of Justice Arrests Georgia Resident for Selling Illegal Products Claiming To Protect Against Viruses
On April 9, 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it had charged a Georgia resident, Rong Sun, a/k/a Vicky Sun with federal criminal charges relating to alleged illegal importation, sales, and mailing of an unregistered pesticide product. EPA also has taken steps to prevent further imports, sales, and distributions of this product within the United States, announcing in its press release that it prevented several shipments of this product from entering U.S....
April 16, 2020
EPA Continues Efforts to Increase the Availability of Disinfectant Products for Use Against COVID-19
On April 14, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is taking further action to help ease the production and availability of EPA-registered disinfectants by temporarily allowing registrants to notify EPA of certain formulation and manufacturing facility changes and immediately release the product for sale without waiting for EPA approval. This only applies to products on EPA’s List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2 (List N). EPA’s...
On April 3, 2020, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) announced it would allow enforcement discretion by County Agricultural Commissioners (CAC) for licensing and certification requirements for pesticide applicators who perform sanitization services to control the spread of COVID-19. DPR states in its announcement that, under normal circumstances, a “Pest Control Business (PCB) must always have a Qualified Applicator License (QAL) holder to supervise pest control...
On April 3, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hosted an interactive telephone call with U.S. retailers and third-party marketplace platforms to discuss imposter disinfectant products and those that falsely claim to be effective against the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19. EPA hosted the call due to recent complaints on the availability of products with unsubstantiated and potentially dangerous claims of protection against SARS-CoV-2 and has enlisted...
April 3, 2020
EPA Announced New Surface Disinfectant Products Added to List N in Effort to Combat COVID-19
On April 2, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the addition of new surface disinfectants on EPA’s List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2 (List N) that may be used to combat SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. List N now contains 357 products. The webpage for List N also now has enhanced functionality to allow users to sort these products by surface type and use site. EPA states that it continues to expedite...