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Download transcript. This week, I discuss with my colleagues, Dr. Richard E. Engler, Director of Chemistry for B&C and The Acta Group (Acta®), our consulting affiliate, and Kelly N. Garson, Senior Associate for B&C and Acta, our recently released book, titled Chemical Product Law and Supply Chain Stewardship: A Guide to New TSCA, published by the American Bar Association. As listeners know, as a law firm and consulting firm, we do a lot of work under the Toxic Substances Control Act...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is pleased to announce the release by American Bar Association (ABA) Publishing of Chemical Product Law and Supply Chain Stewardship: A Guide to New TSCA, edited by B&C Managing Partner Lynn L. Bergeson and authored by Ms. Bergeson and members of B&C’s highly experienced Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) practice group. This invaluable guide provides a road map to navigate efficiently the transformational changes in chemical product law,...

It’s been almost nine years since Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) stakeholders celebrated President Obama’s enactment of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg) on June 22, 2016. Because the road to amending TSCA was long (almost a decade), contentious and complicated, stakeholders may have been more relieved that the process was finally over than interested in the fine print.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published the Developments in Delegations on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials and Advanced Materials between July 2023 and June 2024 -- Tour de Table (Tour de Table). The Tour de Table lists U.S. developments on the human health and environmental safety of nanomaterials. Risk assessment decisions, including the type of nanomaterials assessed, testing recommended, and outcomes of the assessment include: The U.S....

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on February 4, 2025, announced the “Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative” (PGAC Initiative). It consists of five pillars and is intended to serve as a roadmap to guide EPA’s actions under Administrator Zeldin. The five pillars are:  Clean Air, Land, and Water for Every American; Restore American Energy Dominance; Permitting Reform, Cooperative Federalism, and Cross-Agency Partnership; Make the United States...

A key force propelling reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act through Congress in 2016 was a bipartisan belief, shared by the business and environmental communities alike, that the Environmental Protection Agency needs more information to do its job of protecting the American public from adverse effects caused by chemical exposures. After all, it has been domestic policy under TSCA for almost a half century that “adequate information should be developed . . . and that the development of...

It has been almost nine years since Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) stakeholders celebrated President Obama’s enactment on June 22, 2016, of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg). Because the road to amending TSCA was long (almost a decade), contentious, and complicated, stakeholders were perhaps more relieved that the process was finally over than inclined to focus on the fine print. This article discusses mid-course corrections that are desperately...

On January 16, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of and requested public comment on the draft scope of the risk evaluation to be conducted under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for vinyl chloride. 90 Fed. Reg. 4738. EPA notes that under TSCA, the scope documents must include the conditions of use (COU), hazards, exposures, and the potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations (PESS) that EPA expects to consider in conducting its risk...

On January 14, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule to address the unreasonable risk of injury to human health presented by Color Index (C.I.) Pigment Violet 29 (PV29) under its conditions of use (COU) as documented in EPA’s January 2021 risk evaluation and September 2022 revised risk determination. 90 Fed. Reg. 3107. The proposed rule states that the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires that EPA address by rule any unreasonable risk of injury to...

On January 17, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of the latest Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory. The TSCA Inventory lists all existing chemical substances manufactured, processed, or imported in the United States under TSCA that do not otherwise qualify for an exemption or exclusion. EPA states that “[t]his biannual update to the public TSCA Inventory is part of EPA’s regular posting of non-confidential TSCA Inventory data.” EPA plans...

In a development no one could have predicted several weeks ago, the first hearing of the 119th Congress in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (E&C) focused on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and amendments to TSCA that were enacted more than eight years ago. The E&C Subcommittee on Environment (the Subcommittee) hearing on January 22, 2025, “A Decade Later: Assessing the Legacy and Impact of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act,” featured...

Representatives Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) introduced H.J. Res. 27, a resolution expressing congressional disapproval of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rule on trichloroethylene (TCE). This joint resolution is an attempt to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn EPA’s recent TCE rule issued under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Introduction of a resolution of disapproval is the first step in the process of overturning a...

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) on January 23, 2025, advanced the nomination of Lee Zeldin to the full Senate for a vote to confirm him as the next Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The 11-8 vote to advance the nomination was largely along party lines, with Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) as the only Democrat to vote in favor of advancing Zeldin’s nomination. Zeldin is expected to be confirmed by the Senate. EPW held a hearing on the...

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly released a report entitled “New Chemicals Program: EPA Needs a Systematic Process to Better Manage and Assess Performance” on January 22, 2025. GAO states that it was asked to review the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) implementation of its Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) New Chemicals Program. The report summarizes the perspectives of selected manufacturers on EPA’s review process and evaluates the extent to which...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is pleased to present “What’s New with New Approach Methodologies: A Webinar” from 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (EST) on February 13, 2025. New Approach Methodologies (NAM) are being increasingly used throughout the field of toxicology due to scientific, logistical, and ethical advantages, as well as legal requirements. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as directed by the 2016 amendment to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), is...

On January 22, 2025, 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 website includes the following witness materials: Chris Jahn, President and Chief Executive Officer, American Chemistry Council (ACC), biography and witness testimony; Geoff Moody, Senior Vice President, Government Relations and Policy, American Fuel and...

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. Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry for...

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 years since the Frank R....

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...