All Knowledge & Insights By Date

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 Subcommittee on Environment of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce has announced that its first hearing of the 119th Congress will focus on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The hearing, “A Decade Later: Assessing the Legacy and Impact of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act,” is scheduled for January 22, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. in Room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building and will be webcast....

On January 22, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. (EST), the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment will hold a hearing entitled “A Decade Later: Assessing the Legacy and Impact of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act.” The Committee’s press release notes that “[t]he domestic production of chemicals is critical to the growth of our economy and vital to the success of American manufacturers.” According to the press release, nearly ten...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 13, 2025, that it signed a long-awaited memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) formalizing coordination on EPA’s work to assess and manage existing chemicals under Section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). According to EPA’s press release, “EPA and OSHA anticipate that better coordination under this MOU will result in improved workplace health and safety...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released final risk management rules under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) on December 9, 2024, and for carbon tetrachloride (CTC) on December 11, 2024. EPA states that all uses of TCE will be banned over time, with “the vast majority of identified risks eliminated within one year,” and safer alternatives readily available for the majority of uses. The PCE rule will ban...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), its global consulting affiliate The Acta Group (Acta®), and consortia management affiliate B&C® Consortia Management, L.L.C. (BCCM) are pleased to share with you our 2025 Forecast. For all the reasons you might imagine, our seasoned team was especially challenged this year in speculating on what to expect in 2025 regarding global industrial, agricultural, and biocidal chemical regulatory and policy initiatives. Given the European Parliamentary...

On December 13, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final Health and Safety Reporting Rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to require manufacturers (including importers) of 16 chemical substances to submit copies and lists of certain unpublished health and safety studies to EPA. 89 Fed. Reg. 100756. The rule applies to manufacturers in the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes for chemical manufacturing (NAICS code 325) and...

Recognizing it has much to do and little time to complete its tasks, the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) has been issuing final rules at a fast and furious rate since the election last month. This week, I discuss OPPT’s to-do list with my colleague, Dr. Richard E. Engler, Director of Chemistry for B&C and The Acta Group (Acta®), our consulting affiliate. In addition to multiple final Section 6 risk management rules, the U.S....

On November 13, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of its final supplement to the risk evaluation and revised unreasonable risk determination for 1,4-dioxane under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 89 Fed. Reg. 89993. EPA states in the Federal Register notice that it “used the best available science to prepare this final supplement to the risk evaluation and has determined that 1,4-dioxane poses unreasonable risk to human health.” EPA notes...

On November 29, 2024, the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) that would update the December 2, 2022, proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) for 17 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN) and are also subject to an Order issued by EPA pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 89 Fed. Reg. 94642. The SNURs would require persons who intend...

On November 22, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia entered two consent decrees establishing deadlines for completing risk evaluations for 20 High-Priority Chemicals and two manufacturer-requested risk evaluations (MRRE). The Community In-Power and Development Association Inc. (CIDA), v. EPA, Case No. 1:23-cv-02715. As reported in our May 10, 2024, memorandum, CIDA, the Learning Disabilities Association of America, Louisiana Environmental Action Network, Sierra Club, and...

On November 20, 2024, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and Representative Jennifer McClellan (D-VA) introduced the Get Toxic Substances Out of Schools Act of 2024. This is the third consecutive Congress in which Senator Markey has introduced similar legislation. The 118th Congress version, S. 5363 and H.R. 10173, builds on earlier versions by authorizing new grants to address indoor air quality in schools and childcare centers. Congress is unlikely to act on this legislation in the...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®) are pleased to announce that Director of Chemistry, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., will present during two sessions of the Household & Commercial Product Association’s (HCPA) 2024 Annual Meeting: Charting the Path Forward for Policy and Regulatory Progress. This event, scheduled for December 8-11, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, FL, engages the public policy issues that impact the household and commercial products industry....

On August 1, 2023, Earthjustice filed a petition under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish regulations prohibiting the manufacturing, processing, use, and distribution of the chemical N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD) for and in tires. Earthjustice filed the petition on behalf of the Yurok Tribe, the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, and the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, and EPA granted the...

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...

On October 9, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has issued its fifth Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) test order requiring testing on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under its National PFAS Testing Strategy. The order requires Innovative Chemical Technologies, The Chemours Company, Daikin America, Inc., Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, and E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company to conduct and submit testing on...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed on October 8, 2024, to add 16 individual per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 15 PFAS categories representing more than 100 individual PFAS to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) list of toxic chemicals subject to reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) to comply with the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA). 89 Fed. Reg. 81776....

On September 30, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested public comment on the manufacture of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), during the fluorination of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and other plastic containers to inform regulations as appropriate under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 89 Fed. Reg. 79581. EPA notes that this request for...

On June 26, 2024, B&C, along with the Environmental Law Institute and the George Washington University Milken Institute of Public Health, sponsored the all-day virtual conference, TSCA Reform — Eight Years Later. The quality of the discussion, the caliber of the participants, and the timeliness of the content motivated us to repurpose the substantive sessions. B&C and ELI are pleased to co-sponsor this episode of All Things Chemical® to enable our podcast audience to listen to...

On September 26, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the final risk evaluation for Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), a flame retardant and plasticizer. 89 Fed. Reg. 78868. EPA states that it determined that TCEP poses an unreasonable risk of injury to human health and the environment. According to EPA’s September 23, 2024, press release, TCEP “has the potential to cause kidney cancer, damage the nervous system and kidneys, and harm fertility.” EPA notes that...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is pleased to announce publication of the 2024 edition of Guide to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), LexisNexis (Guide to TSCA), the first under the editorial direction of the TSCA team at Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. Guide to TSCA is the definitive comprehensive treatise on TSCA, written for lawyers, regulatory affairs specialists, and commercial and business people who need to understand the details of this law. TSCA cuts across...

On June 26, 2024, B&C, along with the Environmental Law Institute and the George Washington University Milken Institute of Public Health, sponsored the all-day virtual conference, TSCA Reform — Eight Years Later. The quality of the discussion, the caliber of the participants, and the timeliness of the content motivated us to repurpose the substantive sessions. B&C and ELI are pleased to co-sponsor this episode of All Things Chemical® to enable our podcast audience to listen to...

On June 26, 2024, B&C, along with the Environmental Law Institute and the George Washington University Milken Institute of Public Health, sponsored the all-day virtual conference, TSCA Reform — Eight Years Later. The quality of the discussion, the caliber of the participants, and the timeliness of the content motivated us to repurpose the substantive sessions. B&C and ELI are pleased to co-sponsor this episode of All Things Chemical® to enable our podcast audience to listen to...

On June 26, 2024, B&C, along with the Environmental Law Institute and the George Washington University Milken Institute of Public Health, sponsored the all-day virtual conference, TSCA Reform — Eight Years Later. The quality of the discussion, the caliber of the participants, and the timeliness of the content motivated us to repurpose the substantive sessions. B&C and ELI are pleased to co-sponsor this episode of All Things Chemical® to enable our podcast audience to listen...

On July 10, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a compliance guide for its final methylene chloride risk management rule issued under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The final rule is complicated, and the compliance guide is a useful document for stakeholders to consider reading. ...

Download transcript. This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Michael Connett, Partner with Siri & Glimstad, LLP to discuss his epic litigation representing Food & Water Watch, a non-profit consumer organization that sued EPA over the fluoridation of drinking water. This issue has a long and complicated administrative and litigation history, and Michael and his firm are actively engaged in a groundbreaking federal litigation based on a judicial appeal of a denied Toxic...

On August 18, 2024, Computational Toxicology published an article entitled “Development of chemical categories for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and the proof-of-concept approach to the identification of potential candidates for tiered toxicological testing and human health assessment.” Co-authored by members of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Center for Computational Toxicology & Exposure (CCTE) and Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule on August 8, 2024, to address the unreasonable risk of injury to human health presented by 1-bromopropane (1-BP) under its conditions of use (COU) as documented in EPA’s August 2020 Risk Evaluation for 1-BP and the December 2022 Revised Risk Determination for 1-BP prepared under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 89 Fed. Reg. 65066. To address the identified unreasonable risk, EPA proposes requirements to,...

On June 14, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued proposed restrictions under Section 6(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to protect workers and consumers from exposure to N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) (89 Fed. Reg. 51134). To address the unreasonable risks the EPA identified, the agency proposes a combination of worker and consumer protections. Given NMP’s ubiquitous applications, this is an important TSCA proposal....

On July 10, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a compliance guide for its final methylene chloride risk management rule issued under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). According to EPA, the compliance guide will help industry, workers, and other interested stakeholders understand and comply with the new regulations to prevent injuries, long-term illnesses, and deaths. EPA also announced that in June 2024, it released a fact sheet on the rule containing...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on July 25, 2024, that it is proposing to designate acetaldehyde, acrylonitrile, benzenamine, vinyl chloride, and 4,4-methylene bis(2-chloroaniline) (MBOCA) as high-priority substances (HPS) for risk evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 89 Fed. Reg. 60420. EPA is providing a 90-day comment period, during which interested persons may submit comments on the proposed designations of these chemicals as HPSs for risk...

The standard of judicial review for most critical TSCA determinations under section 19 is “substantial evidence in the record taken as a whole”. This is a tough standard, considerably more rigorous than the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) standard under section 706, where agency action will be set aside if it is “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.” The recent Loper...

On July 1, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of the draft risk evaluation for 1,1-dichloroethane (1,1-DCE) and the draft human health hazard assessment supporting the draft risk evaluation for 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCE, also known as ethylene dichloride) prepared under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA states that it “preliminarily determined 1,1-dichloroethane poses unreasonable risk to human health (of workers) and the environment.”...

On July 19, 2024, comments by Lynn L. Bergeson were featured in Chemical Processing’s article on what the Supreme Court ruling that overturned the landmark 1984 decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) means for the chemical industry. But not all influence is lost, according to Lynn Bergeson, Chemical Processing’s compliance columnist and managing director at Bergeson & Campbell. She and co-author Kelly N. Garson address several questions...

On 28 March, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its long-awaited first final risk management rule under the Toxic Substances Control Acta (TSCA), banning the import and eventual use of chrysotile asbestos. This is the only form of asbestos known to be used in the US. You may be thinking now that because your company does not import or use asbestos, this does not affect you. You should care about it because the EPA’s approach...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on July 11, 2024, that it granted a petition filed under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requesting that EPA establish regulations under TSCA Section 6 prohibiting the manufacturing, processing, use, distribution in commerce, and disposal of three per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) formed during the fluorination of plastic containers. EPA “will promptly commence an appropriate proceeding under TSCA Section...

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued final risk management rules under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) banning certain uses of two chemicals: chrysotile asbestos and methylene chloride. The identity of these two chemicals is less important than the process by which the EPA concluded that the banned uses of these chemicals pose unreasonable risks to human health and the environment, and the nature and intrusiveness of the workplace and other restrictions the...

On June 26, 2024, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), and the George Washington University (GWU) Milken Institute School of Public Health presented “TSCA Reform — Eight Years Later.” This hybrid conference marked the eighth Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Annual Conference, reflecting on the accomplishments and challenges since the implementation of the 2016 Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act)...

On July 9, 2024, comments by Lynn L. Bergeson were featured in Bloomberg Law’s article on the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enters. v. Raimondo, overturning the 40-year-old Chevron doctrine. Post-Chevron litigation will be interesting, said Lynn Bergeson, managing partner for Bergeson & Campbell PC, which helps companies navigate chemical regulations. “Challengers have a higher potential success on the merits of their arguments.” “We might get favorable...

On July 3, 2024, comments by Lynn L. Bergeson were featured in Chemical Watch’s article on the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn a 40-year-old legal precedent that directed courts to defer to reasonable agency interpretations of the law, throwing into question the authority of agencies like the EPA to craft and defend certain regulations. “This may be a case of be careful what you wish for,” said Lynn Bergeson, managing partner at Bergeson & Campbell....

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.’s (B&C®) June 18, 2024, webinar, “There Is More to TSCA Reporting Than CDR: TSCA Sections 8(a), (c), (d), and (e),” is now available for on-demand viewing. During this one-hour webinar Dave Turk, Supervisor for the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Regulatory and Policy Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT); Stephanie Griffin, Acting Supervisor of the Data Collection Branch, EPA...

TSCA Reform — Eight Years LaterJune 26, 2024, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (EDT) In person at George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington, D.C.,and virtually via livestream Register now to attend in person or virtually the complimentary “TSCA Reform — Eight Years Later” conference, presented by Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), and the George Washington University Milken Institute School of...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued on May 8, 2024, a final rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to address the unreasonable risk of injury to health presented by methylene chloride under its conditions of use (COU). To no one’s surprise, the EPA banned most uses of the chemical. However, surprisingly, the EPA also adopted a de minimis threshold to account for impurities and the unintended presence of methylene chloride. The final...

Register now to join Dave Turk, Supervisor for the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Regulatory and Policy Branch, EPA Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT); Stephanie Griffin, Acting Supervisor of the Data Collection Branch, EPA OPPT; Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, B&C; and Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, B&C, for “There Is More to TSCA Reporting Than CDR: TSCA Sections 8(a), (c), (d), and (e).” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has...

On May 28, 2024, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly released a report entitled Priority Open Recommendations: Environmental Protection Agency. According to the report, since GAO’s May 2023 letter, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implemented four of GAO’s 15 open priority recommendations, including three recommendations related to assessing and controlling toxic chemicals: GAO’s report states that in April 2023, it issued its biennial update to its...