The Society for Chemical Hazard Communication Annual Meeting features an esteemed slate of speakers and subject matter experts presenting during general sessions and professional development courses. Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, B&C, will present the “Navigating the Premanufacture Notice (PMN) Process Under Amended TSCA” workshop on Monday, September 23, 2024. Karin F. Baron, MSPH, Director of Hazard Communication and International Registration Strategy,...
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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...
July 29, 2024
EPA Begins 90-Day Comment Period on Proposed High-Priority Substance Designations for Five Chemicals
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...
July 24, 2024
Lynn L Bergeson, Kelly N Garson, “Loper Bright and TSCA: Will the demise of Chevron matter?,” Chemical Watch, July 22, 2024.
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.”...
July 19, 2024
Lynn L. Bergeson Quoted in Chemical Processing Article “What Ditching The Chevron Deference Means for the Chemical Industry”
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...
July 17, 2024
Lynn L. Bergeson, “What the EPA’s ban on ongoing use of asbestos tells us,” Speciality Chemicals Magazine, July/August 2024.
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...
July 16, 2024
EPA Grants TSCA Section 21 Petition Seeking Section 6 Rule Prohibiting Three PFAS Found in Fluorinated Plastic Containers
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...
July 12, 2024
Lynn L. Bergeson, “Managing risk: what the EPA’s TSCA chemical use bans tell us,” Financier Worldwide, August 2024.
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)...