Memoranda

The Green Ribbon Science Panel (Panel) met on July 14-15, 2011, to discuss potential revisions to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control's (DTSC) Safer Consumer Product Alternatives (SCPA) regulations, as required by AB 1879. Under AB 1879 and Health and Safety Code (HSC) 25253, DTSC is required to adopt regulations "that establish a process for evaluating chemicals of concern in consumer products, and their potential alternatives, to determine how best to limit exposure or to...

On July, 14, 2011, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation's Science and Space Subcommittee held a hearing on national nanotechnology investment. The hearing was held to examine the potential of nanotechnology, federal initiatives to coordinate research investments, barriers to commercialization, possible environmental and health risks, and steps Congress can take to improve the return on federal nanotechnology investments as the Committee works on drafting a...

On July 14, 2011, the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight held a hearing on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Program. According to the hearing charter, the hearing was prompted in part by the recent National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report on EPA's formaldehyde assessment, which focused on the process EPA uses to develop initially draft IRIS assessments and which is separate from the overall...

On July 11, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed significant new use rule (SNUR) for 14 glymes, a class of chemicals structurally related to glycol ethers. According to EPA, the proposed rule, issued under Section 5(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), would require persons who intend to manufacture, import, or process the glymes for an activity that is designated as a significant new use to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing that...

On July 1, 2010, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) released its list of "chemicals of high concern." Under the 2009 Toxic Free Kids Act, a "chemical of high concern" is a chemical "identified on the basis of credible scientific evidence by a state, federal, or international agency as being known or suspected with a high degree of probability to": Harm the normal development of a fetus or child or cause other developmental toxicity;  Cause cancer, genetic damage, or reproductive...

On June 30, 2011, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson signed a proposed rule seeking to narrow certain recycling exemptions under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act's (RCRA) "Definition of Solid Waste" (DSW) provisions. The rule should be published in the Federal Register within the next two weeks. A pre-publication copy of the rule and related information can be accessed online. EPA will accept comments on the rule for 60 days...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has sent to the Partner Expert Group (PEG) a draft of a second version of the guidance on data sharing for phase-in and non-phase-in substances under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) (Data Sharing Guidance). The first edition of the Data Sharing Guidance was published in 2007. ECHA has revised the entire Data Sharing Guidance document, including correcting mistakes and inconsistencies, proposing to remove...

Taiwan is likely to publish a draft national inventory of existing chemical substances by the end of 2011. During an interagency meeting held the week of June 20, 2011, participants chose to delay publication of the draft inventory to align it with legislation for new chemicals notification. Taiwan will introduce new chemicals notification by amending two laws -- the Labor Safety and Health Act (LSHA), managed by the Council of Labor Affairs, and the Toxic Chemical...

The Nanotechnology Caucus will hold a lecture entitled "Nanotechnology 101" on June 22, 2011, at 11:00 a.m. (EDT) in Room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. Please note that the location has been corrected....

The Nanotechnology Caucus will hold a lecture entitled "Nanotechnology 101" on June 22, 2011, at 11:00 a.m. (EDT) in Room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. The agenda includes: Opening Remarks: Vincent Caprio, Executive Director, NanoBusiness Commercialization Association (NanoBCA);  Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR);  Sally Tinkle, Ph.D., Acting Director, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology...

On June 14, 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took long-awaited action to update regulations for testing and labeling over-the-counter (OTC) sunscreen products. The Agency emphasized that the primary intent of its initiative was to establish a consistent standard for testing and labeling sunscreen products to reduce consumer confusion and encourage proper use of these products to enhance their protective function. The most significant elements of FDA's action include changes in...

Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Chair of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics, and Environmental Health, and James Inhofe (R-OK), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, announced that their staffs will co-host on June 21, 2011, the first of several stakeholder meetings concerning reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Lautenberg introduced the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 (S. 847), which is intended to...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on June 9, 2011, a pre-publication copy of a forthcoming Federal Register notice describing several possible approaches for obtaining certain additional information on the composition of pesticide products. EPA focuses particularly on information about what nanoscale materials are present in registered pesticide products, and defines "nanoscale material" as "an active or inert ingredient and any component parts thereof...

On June 9, 2011, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency) posted on its home page a Draft Guidance on Considering Whether an FDA-Regulated Product Involves Application of Nanotechnology. The Agency states that this document is the first step in providing regulatory clarity about the use of nanomaterials in FDA-regulated products and other more product-specific guidance documents are likely to follow. Specifically, the Draft Guidance is "intended to help industry and others identify...

On June 9, 2011, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced that the White House Emerging Technologies Interagency Policy Coordination Committee (ETIPC) has developed a set of principles specific to the regulation and oversight of applications of nanotechnology. The principles are intended to guide the development and implementation of policies, as described in the title "U.S. Decision-making Concerning Regulation and Oversight of Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials" that occur at...

On June 6, 2011, the California Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District affirmed the 2009 decision by the Alameda County Superior Court upholding the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment's (OEHHA) use of the Labor Code mechanism to add chemicals to Proposition 65. California Chamber of Commerce v. Schwarzenegger (Div. 1, No. A125493). This effectively means that the so-called Labor Code mechanism is a viable listing mechanism for Proposition 65 purposes....

Under the revised notification process published this month by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), companies exporting to Japan will be better able to protect confidential business information (CBI). Previously, only Japanese entities could notify information on the required substances. The new notification process provides that, if a notifier (manufacturer or importer in Japan) has "extreme difficulties in identifying a certain chemical substance or its concentration rate...

Three Subcommittees of the Green Ribbon Science Panel (Panel) have scheduled several teleconferences between May 31 and June 16, 2011, to discuss potential revisions to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control's (DTSC) Safer Consumer Product Alternatives (SCPA) regulations, as required by AB 1879. These teleconferences are open to the public and comments may be provided. The Panel had previously convened three Subcommittees to discuss issues related to chemical...

As of June 1, 2011, notifications for substances of very high concern (SVHC) identified on the Candidate List before December 1, 2010, contained in articles must be performed. The current Candidate List is available online. Thirty-eight substances are impacted by the June 1, 2011, notification deadline with an additional eight substances to be notified by June 15, 2011. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) conducted a webinar...

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) issued a May 19, 2011, memorandum to U.S. departments and agencies to highlight the importance of regulatory transparency and openness to promoting international trade. The memorandum is important as it telegraphs the growing importance of trade considerations in domestic regulatory issues, and the Administration's renewed emphasis on the...