All Knowledge & Insights By Date

As reported in our October 19, 2021, memorandum, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the PFAS Strategic Roadmap in October 2021, “laying out a whole-of-agency approach” to addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). As part of the Roadmap, EPA committed to engage with communities in each EPA region to understand better their experiences and challenges in addressing PFAS contamination. To help inform EPA’s ongoing work under the Roadmap, EPA...

On February 15, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested nominations for technical experts to serve as Special Government Employees (SGE) on a review panel under the authority of the Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC), a federal advisory committee to the Office of Research and Development (ORD). 88 Fed. Reg. 9880. EPA states that selected experts will review ORD’s draft documents detailing scientific studies supporting the development of transcriptomic-based...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 12, 2023, that it is updating the Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL), “a living list of chemicals organized by functional-use class that EPA’s Safer Choice program has evaluated and determined meet Safer Choice criteria.” EPA is adding nine chemicals to the SCIL. EPA states that to expand the number of chemicals and functional-use categories on the SCIL, it encourages manufacturers to submit their safer...

 By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 12, 2023, that it is updating the Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL), “a living list of chemicals organized by functional-use class that EPA’s Safer Choice program has evaluated and determined meet Safer Choice criteria.” EPA is adding nine chemicals to the SCIL. EPA states that to expand the number of chemicals and functional-use categories on the SCIL,...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 5, 2023, the release of a new interactive web page on the “PFAS Analytic Tools” that provides information about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) across the country. EPA states that this information will help the public, researchers, and other stakeholders better understand potential PFAS sources in their communities. According to EPA, the PFAS Analytic Tools draw from multiple national databases and...

On December 27, 2022, the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to prevent Inhance Technologies USA from generating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) when fluorinating plastic containers. According to CEH and PEER’s joint press release, testing conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Notre Dame researchers, and other...

On December 14, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the removal of 12 chemicals from the current list of non-food inert ingredients approved for use in pesticide products because the inert ingredients have been identified as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and are no longer used in any registered pesticide product. 87 Fed. Reg. 76488. On September 13, 2022, EPA published a proposal to remove the 12 chemicals from the list of approved...

On December 2, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN) and are also subject to Orders issued by EPA pursuant to TSCA. 87 Fed. Reg. 74072. The SNURs require persons who intend to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or process any of these chemical substances for an activity that is...

On November 10, 2022, California filed suit in California Superior Court against the manufacturers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) “for endangering public health, causing irreparable harm to the state’s natural resources, and engaging in a widespread campaign to deceive the public.” According to California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s November 10, 2022, press release, California “alleges that these manufacturers, including 3M and DuPont, knew or should have known that...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on November 9, 2022, that it awarded $7,770,044 in research grant funding to 11 institutions to develop and evaluate innovative methods and approaches to inform its understanding of the human health risks that may result from exposure to chemical mixtures in the environment. EPA states that toxicology studies have traditionally focused on the effects of single chemicals on human health. Chemicals in the environment are often...