On March 30, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Press Release to clarify its Temporary Policy released on March 26, 2020, regarding EPA’s enforcement of environmental legal obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic. A discussion of the Temporary Policy is available on our blog. The impetus for the Press Release was based, according to EPA, on the “reckless propaganda” by certain news outlets that provided erroneous or exaggerated...
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March 31, 2020
EPA Announces Additional Action to Assure Availability of Disinfectant Products for Use Against the Novel Coronavirus
On March 31, 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 manufacturers of certain already-registered EPA disinfectant products to obtain certain active ingredients from any source without prior approval from EPA. This only applies to products on EPA’s List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2 (List N). EPA announced on...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 26, 2020, a temporary policy regarding enforcement of environmental legal obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic. EPA states that its temporary enforcement discretion policy applies to civil violations during the COVID-19 outbreak. The policy addresses different categories of noncompliance differently. For example, according to EPA, it “does not expect to seek penalties for noncompliance...
March 26, 2020
EPA Announces Continued Efforts to Help Increase Availability of Disinfectant Products for Use Against COVID-19
On March 26, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is allowing flexibility to manufacturers of disinfectants and other pesticides to increase the availability of products for use against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. EPA announced that it is allowing manufacturers to obtain certain inert ingredients from different suppliers without EPA approval after manufacturers voiced concern with EPA about challenges they face obtaining inert...
On March 13, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an expanded list of EPA-registered disinfectant products that have qualified for use against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The list contains nearly 200 additional products, including 40 new products that went through EPA’s expedited review process. While disinfectant products on this list have not been tested specifically against SARS-CoV-2, EPA expects them to be effective against...
March 11, 2020
FTC and FDA Send Warning Letters to Seven Companies about Unsupported Claims that Products Can Treat or Prevent Coronavirus
On March 10, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that warning letters were sent to seven companies for allegedly selling unapproved products that may violate federal law by making deceptive or scientifically unsupported claims about their ability to treat coronavirus (COVID-19). The warning letters are the first issued by the Agencies alleging unapproved and/or unsupported claims that products can treat or prevent...
On March 9, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that due to the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, it is expediting review of submissions made by companies that are requesting to add Emerging Viral Pathogen claims to its labels of already-registered surface disinfectants. EPA states that only claims that do not require review of new efficacy data are being expedited at this time. Companies can submit these claims as non-Pesticide...
On March 5, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of a new list of EPA-registered disinfectant products that have qualified for use against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Products on EPA’s “List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2” are registered disinfectants qualified for use against SARS-CoV-2 approved through EPA’s Emerging Viral Pathogen Program (Program). Currently there are 85 products...
On January 29, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has activated its Emerging Viral Pathogen Guidance for Antimicrobial Pesticides (Guidance) in response to the discovery of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), coronaviruses cause numerous illnesses, from the common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). First identified in Wuhan, China, the 2019-nCoV coronavirus is a new strain...