All Knowledge & Insights By Date

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on October 20, 2023, the release of a final rule that is intended to improve reporting on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) by eliminating an exemption that allowed facilities to avoid reporting information on PFAS when those chemicals were used in small concentrations. The final rule will add PFAS subject to reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and...

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) announced on September 20, 2023, that together with the Texas Chemical Council, it submitted a 60-day notice of intent to file suit for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) failure to complete manufacturer-requested risk evaluations (MRRE) for diisononyl phthalate (DINP) and diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). ACC states that EPA failed to complete the MRREs by TSCA’s mandatory deadline of three years and...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on October 6, 2023, that it is deploying application updates, supporting new requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Confidential Business Information (CBI) Procedural Rule, within its electronic reporting site Central Data Exchange (CDX). EPA states that the deployments will update the applications requiring CBI substantiations to be provided within the application instead of requiring substantiation documents/templates...

On August 3, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of and solicited public comment on the document entitled “White Paper: Quantitative Human Health Approach to be Applied in the Risk Evaluation for Asbestos Part 2 — Supplemental Evaluation including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos” (White Paper) and related charge questions. 88 Fed. Reg. 51309. EPA states that it will be soliciting comments from expert ad hoc reviewers on the...

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) published a blog item on September 18, 2023, entitled “Now’s the Time — How EPA Can Use TSCA to Turn Off the PFAS Tap.” According to EDF, for both previously approved per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and for new PFAS, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should: EDF concludes that by using its full authority under TSCA, “EPA can ensure a future where chemicals do not compromise our health and...

Earthjustice announced on September 18, 2023, that environmental justice and health advocates have filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “for missing statutory deadlines to complete risk evaluations for 22 toxic chemicals released in high volumes in fenceline communities and found in many everyday consumer products.” Earthjustice states that “EPA initiated risk evaluations for the nearly two dozen toxic...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) spring 2023 Unified Agenda, published on June 13, 2023, includes the following rulemakings under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) or the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). Proposed Rule Stage Final Rule 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...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton On July 19, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) extended the comment period on proposed amendments to the new chemicals procedural regulations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 88 Fed. Reg. 46125. According to EPA, the amendments are “intended to align the regulatory text with the amendments to TSCA’s new chemicals review provisions contained in the [2016] Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on July 19, 2023, that it is extending the public comment period for its proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to ensure chemicals made from plastic waste-derived feedstocks are free from certain contaminants before they can be used to make transportation fuels. The SNURs would require companies to notify EPA before manufacturing or processing 18 chemicals made from plastic waste-derived...