All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On April 28, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) outlined upcoming Agency action to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). According to EPA’s announcement, “[i]n line with Administrator Zeldin’s Powering the Great American Comeback initiative, EPA’s work in this space will advance Pillar 1: Clean Air, Land, and Water for Every American, and Pillar 3: Permitting Reform, Cooperative Federalism, and Cross-Agency Partnership.” EPA states that these actions...

On April 8, 2025, the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) published a Nanopinion entitled “A Qualification System to Accelerate Development and Regulatory Implementation of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs)” by Andrea Haase, Ph.D., German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Shirin M. Usmani, Ph.D., BfR, Irene Cattaneo, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Maria Chiara Astuto, EFSA, and Francesco Cubadda, Ph.D., National Institute of Health (ISS). The authors...

On January 14, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the final risk evaluation for diisononyl phthalate (DINP) conducted under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA states that it has determined that DINP presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health because workers could be exposed to high concentrations of DINP in mist when spraying adhesive, sealant, paint, and coating products that contain DINP. According to EPA, DINP can cause developmental toxicity...

The European Commission (EC) announced on October 3, 2023, that it adopted a Recommendation on critical technology areas for the European Union’s (EU) economic security, for further risk assessment with EU member states. According to the EC, the Recommendation relates to the assessment of technology risk and technology leakage. The EC states that the risk assessment “will be objective in character, and neither its results nor any follow-up measures can be anticipated at this stage.”...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a webinar series in collaboration with the PETA Science Consortium International (PSCI), Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS), and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR). According to EPA, the quarterly series will focus on the use of new approach methodologies (NAM), or alternative methods to reduce vertebrate animal testing, for risk assessment within EPA and CDPR. The first webinar in the series will take place...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a webinar series in collaboration with the PETA Science Consortium International (PSCI), Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS), and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR). According to EPA, the quarterly series will focus on the use of new approach methodologies (NAM), or alternative methods to reduce vertebrate animal testing, for risk assessment within EPA and CDPR. The first webinar in the series will take place...

On May 18, 2023, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced the Supercomputing for Safer Chemicals (SUPERSAFE) Act (S. 1685, H.R. 3457). According to Padilla’s May 18, 2023, press release, the legislation would establish a SUPERSAFE Consortium led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “to identify chemicals that are safe to use in commerce through science-backed decision making.” The press release states that the bill would direct the use...

On May 16, 2023, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released publicly a report on its priority open recommendations for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). GAO’s priority recommendations include three in the area of “assessing and controlling toxic chemicals.” According to GAO, EPA’s ability to protect effectively public health and the environment depends on credible and timely assessments of the risks posed by toxic chemicals, including per- and...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 23, 2023, that it is seeking public nominations of scientific and technical experts that EPA can consider for service as ad hoc reviewers assisting the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) with the peer review of the “2023 Draft Supplement to the 1,4-Dioxane Risk Evaluation.” 88 Fed. Reg. 17566. EPA states that it will release the draft supplement for public review and comment in June 2023. EPA also plans to...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has opened registration for the second of its two-part webinar series on EPA’s new standardized process to assess risk and apply mitigation measures, as appropriate, for mixed metal oxides (MMO), including new and modified cathode active materials (CAM). The webinar, which will be held March 30, 2023, will give an in-depth look into the standardized risk assessment approach and present various case scenarios and a decision tree for identifying...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 13, 2023, that it will accept public comments on candidates under consideration for selection as ad hoc reviewers to assist the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) with peer review of two draft documents related to cumulative risk assessment under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Biographies of these candidates are available on regulations.gov. If selected, candidates will serve as...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on December 21, 2022, that it seeks public nominations of scientific and technical experts whom EPA can consider for service as ad hoc reviewers assisting the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) with the peer review of two draft documents entitled “Draft Proposed Principles of Cumulative Risk Assessment Under the Toxic Substances Control Act” and “Draft Proposed Approach for Cumulative Risk Assessment of...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   Research in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD) is organized around six highly integrated and transdisciplinary national research programs that are closely aligned with EPA’s strategic goals and cross-EPA strategies. Each program is guided by a Strategic Research Action Plan (StRAP) developed by EPA with input from its many internal and external partners and stakeholders. In October...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on November 10, 2022, that it is requesting nominations of prospective candidates for membership on the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) established under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 87 Fed. Reg. 67898. Any interested person or organization may nominate qualified persons to be considered for appointment to the SACC. Individuals may also self-nominate. Nominations are...

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...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) New Chemicals Program will host a webinar on October 18, 2022, on EPA’s process for assessing the potential risks of new chemicals under Section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the types of data EPA considers in this assessment. The webinar will cover examples of quantitative and qualitative data unlikely to be accepted for engineering assessment, considerations EPA makes when evaluating data, and clarifications of common...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) New Chemicals Program will host a webinar on October 18, 2022, on EPA’s process for assessing the potential risks of new chemicals under Section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the types of data EPA considers in this assessment. The webinar will cover examples of quantitative and qualitative data unlikely to be accepted for engineering assessment, considerations...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on October 11, 2022, that the Office of Research and Development’s (ORD) Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC) will review the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) New Chemicals Collaborative Research Program. 87 Fed. Reg. 61313. The meeting will be held October 24-25, 2022, via videoconference. Attendees must register by October 23, 2022. Comments must be received by October 23, 2022, to be considered by...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a webinar on October 13, 2022, on its web-based Interspecies Correlation Estimation (Web-ICE) tool. According to EPA, protecting the diversity of species from the adverse effects of chemicals is a significant environmental challenge. EPA acknowledges that information on the effects of chemicals on species is either very limited or lacking entirely, making management and mitigation of environmental contaminants difficult. EPA developed...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 22, 2022, that as part of its commitment to re-evaluate policies and practices under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) New Chemicals Program to ensure they adhere to statutory requirements and the Biden Administration’s executive orders and directives, it has updated its policy to discontinue the use of exposure modeling thresholds when assessing the health and environmental risks of new chemicals under TSCA. According...