Archives

July 3, 2024

Lynn L. Bergeson Quoted in Chemical Watch Article “US Supreme Court curtails regulatory powers of agencies like the EPA”

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. "Chemical laws like TSCA are...
June 27, 2024

Recording Available for “There Is More to TSCA Reporting Than CDR: TSCA Sections 8(a), (c), (d), and (e)” Webinar, Featuring Dave Turk and Stephanie Griffin from EPA OPPT

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 OPPT; Richard E....
June 12, 2024

Speakers and Sessions Announced for “TSCA Reform — Eight Years Later”

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 Public Health....
June 10, 2024

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Bans Most Uses of Methylene Chloride,” Chemical Processing, June 10, 2024.

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 rule goes into effect July 8,...
June 7, 2024

There Is More to TSCA Reporting Than CDR: TSCA Sections 8(a), (c), (d), and (e), featuring Dave Turk and Stephanie Griffin from EPA OPPT, June 18, 2024, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EDT), via webinar

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 been using...
June 5, 2024

GAO Finds EPA Implemented Three Open Recommendations Related to Assessing and Controlling Toxic Chemicals

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: In May 2023, EPA’s chemical assessment program provided information to its program...
May 29, 2024

Lynn L. Bergeson Quoted in Bloomberg Law Article “EPA Chemical Rulemaking Complicated by Challenge to Agency Power”

On May 28, 2024, comments by Lynn L. Bergeson were featured in Bloomberg Law's article on legal challenges to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) interpretation of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Parties also may challenge the EPA’s decisions about “reasonably foreseen” uses of chemicals, said Fischer and Lynn Bergeson, managing partner of Bergeson & Campbell PC, which specializes in domestic and international chemical laws. Amended TSCA requires the EPA to...
May 24, 2024

EPA Releases Draft Risk Evaluation Documents for DIDP and DINP for Public Comment and Peer Review

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on May 20, 2024, the availability of and solicited public comment on the draft manufacturer-requested risk evaluation (MRRE) for di-isodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and the draft physical chemical, fate, and hazard assessments for di-isononyl phthalate (DINP) prepared under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 89 Fed. Reg. 43847. In its May 17, 2024, press release, EPA states that it preliminarily determined that all but one of the uses of...
May 21, 2024

Registration Now Open for “TSCA Reform — Eight Years Later” Conference

Registration is now open for “TSCA Reform -- Eight Years Later,” the June 26, 2024, day-long conference sponsored by Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), and the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. The conference focuses on Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) implementation challenges and accomplishments since the enactment in 2016 of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg...
May 17, 2024

EPA Bans Most Uses of Methylene Chloride, Requires Stronger Worker Safety Requirements for Remaining Industrial Uses

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued on May 8, 2024, a final rule to address unreasonable risks of injury to health EPA identified caused by methylene chloride under its conditions of use (COU). 89 Fed. Reg. 39254. According to EPA, the final rule will prevent serious illness and death associated with uncontrolled exposures to methylene chloride by preventing consumer access methylene chloride and by restricting the industrial and commercial use of methylene chloride while also...
May 16, 2024

Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Leads Two-Day “TSCA Fundamentals” Training, May 21-22, 2024

Chemical Watch’s “TSCA Fundamentals” course, taught by Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), will provide in-depth training on the very latest Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) regulatory and policy developments, their impact, and how to anticipate their requirements, comply with the law, and remain commercially competitive. Chemical Watch will offer a 15% discount for B&C clients and friends. To redeem this discount, please...
May 16, 2024

Lynn L. Bergeson and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., “Optimizing TSCA’s Potential to Reduce Plastic Waste,” ABA NR&E, Spring 2024.

A critical element of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution (Strategy) is to “improve post-use materials management.”  The Strategy identifies potential voluntary actions EPA believes can be implemented to prevent plastic waste. Plastics recycling, both mechanical and “advanced,” is core to achieving improved post-use plastics materials management. Post-use plastics management, in turn, is core to achieving...
May 16, 2024

There Is More to TSCA Reporting Than CDR: TSCA Sections 8(a), (c), (d), and (e), featuring Dave Turk and Stephanie Griffin from EPA OPPT, June 18, 2024, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EDT), via webinar

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been using its Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8 authorities in new and different ways. These TSCA reporting obligations have been of interest to stakeholders, raising many good questions and interest in understanding why EPA is seeking information, how it relies upon the information it receives, and what is in scope under the various reporting obligations. We here at Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) found it timely to...
May 14, 2024

EPA Amends Procedural Framework Rule for Conducting TSCA Risk Evaluations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a final rule on April 23, 2024, that amends the procedural framework rule for conducting risk evaluations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). According to the final rule, published in the Federal Register on May 3, 2024, EPA reconsidered the procedural framework rule for conducting such risk evaluations and is revising certain aspects of that framework to align better with the statutory text and applicable court decisions, to...
May 10, 2024

EPA Will Host Webinar on Advancing Eye Irritation Assessment with Non-Animal Methods for Industrial Chemicals and Agrochemicals

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on May 8, 2024, that, in collaboration with the PETA Science Consortium International (PSCI), the Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS), and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR), on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, it will hold a webinar on the use of new approach methodologies (NAM).  The webinar, “Advancing Eye Irritation Assessment with Non-Animal Methods for Industrial Chemicals and Agrochemicals: Progress at the US...
April 29, 2024

EPA Issues Asbestos Part 2 Draft Risk Evaluation, Preliminarily Determines That Asbestos Poses Unreasonable Risk to Human Health

On April 16, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of and requested public comment on a draft document titled “Draft Risk Evaluation for Asbestos Part 2: Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos” (the Draft Asbestos Part 2). 89 Fed. Reg. 26878. EPA is evaluating legacy uses and associated disposals of asbestos, including chrysotile asbestos, five additional fiber types, asbestos-containing talc, and Libby...
April 15, 2024

NGOs Petition EPA to Remove PFAS Immediately from Fluorinated Plastic Containers

The Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) announced on April 11, 2024, that a coalition of public health groups filed a petition under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) seeking to stop immediately the manufacture and distribution of “hundreds of millions of plastic containers with dangerous levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that leach from these containers into household products and the environment.” The petition “demands that the...
April 11, 2024

Register Now for “Harmonizing TSCA Consent Orders with OSHA HCS 2012” on May 14, 2024, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EDT)

Register now to join Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®) for “Harmonizing TSCA Consent Orders with OSHA HCS 2012,” a complimentary webinar covering case studies and practical applications of merging the requirements for consent order language on the Safety Data Sheet (SDS). Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) consent orders and Significant New Use Rules (SNUR) are issued under Section 5 for specific chemicals. These U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...
April 11, 2024

Asbestos Reporting Rule — A Conversation with Richard E. Engler, Ph.D.

Download transcript. This week I discuss with my colleague, Dr. Richard E. Engler, Director of Chemistry for B&C and The Acta Group, our consulting affiliate, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) important and recently issued first final risk management rule for chrysotile asbestos. Those of us in the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) community know asbestos occupies a special place in TSCA’s checkered past, and EPA’s final rule is an important chapter in that book....
April 9, 2024

EPA Publishes ANPRM Regarding Lead Wheel Weights

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published on April 3, 2024, an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) regarding lead for wheel-balancing weights (lead wheel weights). 89 Fed. Reg. 22972. EPA requests comments and information to assist in the potential development of regulations for the manufacture (including importing), processing (including recycling), and distribution in commerce of lead for lead wheel weights under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). To inform this...