Archives

November 13, 2024

EPA Administrator Signs Final Rule Revising PBT Rules for decaBDE and PIP (3:1)

On October 31, 2024, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan signed a final rule revising the regulations for decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) and phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)), two of the five persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals addressed in final rules issued under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in January 2021. According to the pre-publication version of the final rule (which is only available on EPA’s...
October 12, 2024

EPA Extends Enforcement Statement for Regulation of DecaBDE-Containing Wire and Cable Insulation in Nuclear Power Generation Facilities

On September 27, 2024,  the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) extended its May 2, 2023, Enforcement Statement regarding the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 6(h) Rule prohibiting the processing and distribution in commerce of decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE)-containing wire and cable insulation for use in nuclear power generation facilities after January 6, 2023. According to the memorandum, “EPA does not intend to...
December 13, 2023

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Proposes Revised PBT Rules for decaBDE and PIP (3:1),” Chemical Processing, December 11, 2023.

It seems like yesterday when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule prohibiting isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)), and for many in the manufacturing sector, the world got a little bit crazier. The EPA vowed to revise the final rule and did so on Nov. 24, 2023. The EPA’s proposal would amend the regulations for decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) and PIP (3:1), two of the five persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals addressed in...
November 27, 2023

EPA Proposes to Amend PBT Rules for decaBDE and PIP (3:1)

On November 24, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule that will amend the regulations for decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) and phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)), two of the five persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals addressed in final rules issued under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in January 2021. 88 Fed. Reg. 82287. In the proposed rule, EPA states that after receiving additional comments following the...
August 2, 2023

EPA Extends Comment Period on Proposed Updates to TSCA New Chemicals Regulations; Comments Due August

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton On July 19, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) extended the comment period on proposed amendments to the new chemicals procedural regulations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 88 Fed. Reg. 46125. According to EPA, the amendments are “intended to align the regulatory text with the amendments to TSCA’s new chemicals review provisions contained in the [2016] Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st...
July 18, 2023

EPA Extends Comment Period on Proposed Updates to TSCA New Chemicals Regulations; Comments Due August 8, 2023

On July 19, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will publish a Federal Register notice extending the comment period on proposed amendments to the new chemicals procedural regulations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). According to EPA, the amendments are “intended to align the regulatory text with the amendments to TSCA’s new chemicals review provisions contained in the [2016] Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act”...
May 30, 2023

EPA Proposes Updates to TSCA New Chemicals Regulations; Comments Due July 25, 2023

On May 26, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed amendments to the new chemicals procedural regulations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 88 Fed. Reg. 34100. According to EPA, the amendments are “intended to align the regulatory text with the amendments to TSCA’s new chemicals review provisions contained in the [2016] Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act” (Lautenberg Act), improve EPA’s efficiency in the review process,...
May 8, 2023

EPA Will Extend Compliance Date for decaBDE PBT Rule, Issues Enforcement Statement

On May 3, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its intent to extend the January 6, 2023, compliance date on the prohibition on the processing and distribution of decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) for use in wire and cable insulation in nuclear power generation facilities, and decaBDE-containing wire and cable insulation. As reported in our December 23, 2020, memorandum, decaBDE is one of the persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals that are...
February 16, 2022

EPA Submits Final Rule on PIP (3:1) Compliance Date Extension to OMB

On February 15, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a final rule regarding a further compliance date extension for phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)). EPA proposed in October 2021 to extend the compliance date applicable to the processing and distribution in commerce of certain PIP (3:1)-containing articles and the PIP (3:1) used to make those articles until October 31, 2024, along with the associated recordkeeping...
December 14, 2021

EPA’s Fall 2021 Unified Agenda Includes TSCA Rulemakings

On December 10, 2021, the Biden Administration released its Fall 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rule list, the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) is working on the following rulemakings under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Rulemakings at the proposed stage include: The Unified Agenda lists the following TSCA rulemaking at the final stage:...
November 9, 2021

House Subcommittee Holds Hearing On “TSCA And Public Health: Fulfilling The Promise Of The Lautenber

By Lynn L. Bergeson  The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change held a hearing on October 27, 2021, on “TSCA and Public Health: Fulfilling the Promise of the Lautenberg Act.” The October 25, 2021, briefing memorandum notes that the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (the Lautenberg Act) comprehensively amended TSCA, “including key reforms to increase EPA’s authority to mandate testing, require EPA to...
October 8, 2021

OIRA Completes Review of Proposed Rule Concerning Further Compliance Date Extension for PIP (3:1)

On October 7, 2021, the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) completed its review of a proposed rule on “Regulation of Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic Chemicals Under TSCA Section 6(h); Phenol, Isopropylated Phosphate (3:1); Further Compliance Date Extension.” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 3, 2021, an extension of certain compliance dates for Phenol, Isopropylated Phosphate (3:1)...
September 22, 2021

PFAS Reporting Rules Webinar Recording and Q&A Document Available Now

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is pleased to offer the recording, slides, and written Question and Answer (Q&A) document from our “PFAS Reporting Rules — What Every Company Needs to Know” webinar, focusing on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed reporting rules for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), presented by B&C Managing Partner Lynn L. Bergeson and Director of Chemistry Richard E. Engler, Ph.D. Do you wonder if the...
September 20, 2021

EPA and PBTs: A New Normal? — A Conversation with Richard E. Engler, Ph.D.

This week’s All Things Chemical® Podcast will be of interest to readers of the TSCAblog®. A brief description of the episode written by Lynn L. Bergeson is below. This week I sat down with Richard E. Engler, Ph..D., Director of Chemistry with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®), to discuss the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) continuing struggle to regulate certain persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic...
September 17, 2021

EPA Publishes Final Rule Extending PIP (3:1) Compliance Dates

On September 17, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule amending the regulations applicable to phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)) promulgated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 86 Fed. Reg. 51823. Specifically, EPA is extending the compliance date applicable to the processing and distribution in commerce of certain PIP (3:1)-containing articles, and the PIP (3:1) used to make those articles, from March 8, 2021, to March 8, 2022....
June 21, 2021

Available On-Demand: Retail Compliance Center’s “TSCA – It Is Not What You May Think”

On June 10, 2021, the Retail Industry Leaders Association’s (RILA) Retail Compliance Center (RCC) and Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), presented “TSCA – It Is Not What You May Think.” While the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has long been regarded as a law applying to chemical producers, reforms made in 2016 have drawn many retailers, product manufacturers, and other “article” manufacturers into TSCA’s reach. Nothing...
June 15, 2021

PIP (3:1) Downstream Notifications Will Begin July 7, 2021

As reported in our January 6, 2021, blog item, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued final rules under Section 6(h) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for five persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals, including phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)) (86 Fed. Reg. 894). The final rules limit or prohibit the manufacture (including import), processing, and/or distribution in commerce of the five PBTs, with certain exceptions. In accordance with...
June 14, 2021

Interim Final Rule to Address PBT Rule Compliance Date Issues Planned for September 2021

On June 11, 2021, the Office and Management and Budget released its “Spring 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions” (Regulatory Agenda). It includes an entry for an interim final rule planned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) entitled “Regulation of Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic Chemicals Under TSCA Section 6(h); Reconsideration and Extension of Certain Compliance Dates.” This action, planned for publication in September 2021, would...
April 2, 2021

EPA Extends Public Comment Period for Manufacturer-Requested Risk Evaluation of OTNE

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 1, 2021, that it is extending the public comment period for a manufacturer-requested risk evaluation of octahydro-tetramethyl-naphthalenyl-ethanone (OTNE), a category of chemical substances consisting of four inseparable individual isomers.  As reported in our February 18, 2021, blog item, EPA notes that two chemicals in the OTNE category are considered persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT)...