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The U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment is developing a proof of concept to conduct chemical alternatives assessments (AA) in collaboration with industry.  As a first step, DOD will conduct a pilot project to assess alternatives for a chemical of emerging concern to DOD and industry. According to DOD, a consortium of universities will assist DOD in the AA. To help with the chemical selection for the pilot...

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has published a July 2025 report entitled Update on Critical Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Uses. House Report 118-121, which accompanied the 2024 DOD appropriations bill (H.R. 4365), requested the Secretary of Defense “to submit a report to the congressional defense committees to coordinate with relevant agencies, industries, and academia to research alternatives to defense critical uses of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).” The report...

On May 27, 2025, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) issued a request for information (RFI) to gather information to identify and assess critical applications for DOD and the defense industrial base (DIB) that necessitate the use of existing chemicals undergoing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 6 risk evaluation process. The RFI states that it will help the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy,...

On June 5, 2025, the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) of the U.S. Congress convened a hearing titled “Barriers to Supply Chain Modernization and Factor Productivity Enhancements.” Throughout the hearing, members and witnesses alike underscored the role of “regulatory friction” -- especially in the form of fragmented and unpredictable requirements -- as a key factor slowing investment in domestic manufacturing and threatening supply chain resilience. While the U.S. Environmental Protection...

Download transcript. This week, I discuss with Patricia Underwood, Ph.D., DABT, MBA, Chief Toxicologist, Principal Director – Chemical and Material Risk Management, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense, and my colleague, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry for B&C and The Acta Group (Acta®), our consulting affiliate, the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) recent Request for Information (RFI) on chemicals undergoing U.S. Environmental...

On May 27, 2025, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) issued a request for information (RFI) to gather information to identify and assess critical applications for DOD and the defense industrial base (DIB) that necessitate the use of existing chemicals undergoing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 6 risk evaluation process. The RFI states that it will help the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and...

The National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology announced on December 18, 2024, that the fiscal year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act includes “a suite of recommendations designed to galvanize action on biotechnology” for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). According to the Commission, the bill includes new authorities and requirements -- derived from its May 2024 proposals -- that will position DOD and the intelligence community (IC) to maximize the benefits of...

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) published a fact sheet on June 25, 2024, on the Biden-⁠Harris Administration’s actions to advance American biotechnology and biomanufacturing. According to the fact sheet, on June 25, 2024, the White House, members of the National Bioeconomy Board, and the U.S. Departments of Energy (DOE), Defense (DOD), and Agriculture (USDA) convened major biotechnology and biomanufacturing companies, nonprofits, and other stakeholders to...

On April 22, 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to restructure and update the regulations to focus on current environmental and sustainability matters and to implement a requirement for agencies to procure sustainable products and services to the maximum extent practicable. 89 Fed. Reg. 30212. The final rule adds several...

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report on April 15, 2024, entitled “Persistent Chemicals: Navy Efforts to Address PFAS at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.” GAO states that it was asked to examine the Department of Defense’s (DOD) efforts to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) contamination at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. The report describes DOD’s response to a November 2022 aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) release at the installation; DOD...