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The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) proposed amending the Restriction on the use of Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS) on June 4, 2012. The proposed revisions would align the definition of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) with the European Union's (EU) RoHS Directive; clarify the definition of hazardous substances; provide MIIT more authority to implement RoHS; and create a voluntary certification process for EEE in China....
Category: General
We are pleased to announce that Lynn L. Bergeson is included in Chambers USA 2012 in environment (band 1). The USA guide is based on thousands of in-depth interviews with clients and attorneys. Chambers and Partners then ranked the top firms and attorneys in bands from 1 to 6, with 1 being the best, and described their merits -- often in the words of clients they interviewed. Rankings include technical legal ability, professional conduct, client...
On May 30-31, 2012, the Association of American Pesticide Control Officials (AAPCO)/State Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Issues Research and Evaluation Group (SFIREG) Pesticide Operations Management (POM) Working Committee (WC) held its semi-annual full committee meeting in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 offices in Chicago, Illinois. Through a cooperative agreement in 1978, EPA and AAPCO created SFIREG, an AAPCO committee with EPA funding, to...
On June 11, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed a Federal Register notice extending the deadline for Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) submissions from June 30, 2012, to August 13, 2012. According to the pre-publication notice, this is a "one-time extension" only. The CDR regulations require manufacturers and importers of certain chemical substances included on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory to...
On May 31, 2012, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.'s consulting affiliate, The Acta Group, participated in a webinar on chemical regulation in China with its joint venture partner Acta-PLS China. Leslie S. MacDougall and Andy Burgess addressed the key elements of chemical control legislation in China, including the new chemical substance notification order, Ministry of Environmental Protection's Order Number 7, and the new decree regarding safe management of hazardous chemicals, State Council Decree...
On June 1, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) announced an additional 18 chemicals to be assessed under its Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan initiative. These additional assessments are scheduled to occur in 2013 and 2014, although it is not clear from EPA's announcement which chemicals would be assessed in which year. EPA did announce, however, that it "would welcome the submission of additional relevant information...
Exactly three months from the date the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) announced its Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan initiative, EPA on June 1 announced an additional 18 chemicals scheduled for assessment during 2013 and 2014. EPA states that it selected the chemicals for a variety of reasons, similar to those it used to identify the seven Work Plan chemicals to assess...
AUSTRALIA Australia Announces 3,000 Chemicals To Be Assessed In IMAP Framework: On June 15, 2012, the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) announced the 3,000 existing chemicals that it will assess through its new Inventory Multi-tiered Assessment and Prioritization (IMAP) framework. NICNAS has designated the chemicals in the first group to be assessed as "Stage One chemicals." NICNAS identified the Stage One...
At the request of California Governor Jerry Brown (D), the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) withdrew its October 31, 2011, informal draft Safer Consumer Products regulations, as well as a revised formal draft scheduled for release in April. Brown reportedly had concerns regarding the scope of the regulations, the treatment of confidential business information, and duplication of existing federal and state regulations. Brown asked DTSC to issue new informal draft...
May 16, 2012
Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health Considers PEL Recommendations
The Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (FACOSH) met on May 3, 2012, during which it discussed revised recommendations on permissible exposure limits (PEL) from FACOSH's Emerging Issues Subcommittee. FACOSH is authorized by the Occupational Safety and Health Act and Executive Order (EO) 11,612, as amended, "to advise the Secretary [of Labor] on all matters relating to the occupational safety and health of federal employees," including providing advice on how to reduce the...