Memoranda

On January 21, 2016, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) published its final version of the Administrative Measures for the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products (China RoHS2). China RoHS2 will enter into force on July 1, 2016. An English translation of China RoHS2 provided by the EU Chamber of Commerce is available online. Since 2010, the Chinese government has endeavoured to update its RoHS Regulation,...

Turkey has been swiftly aligning its chemical regulatory system to that of the European Union (EU) since its EU membership negotiations commenced in 2005. KKDIK, described below, is Turkey’s new chemical regulation, currently in draft. Widely referred to as Turkey REACH, KKDIK will further Turkey’s vision of enacting EU REACH-like legislation. It is available in Turkish online. The name is taken from the first letters of Registration (Kaydı), Evaluation (Değerlendirilmesi),...

EPA Issues Final RMP Rule: On January 13, 2017, EPA published in the Federal Register its final rule amending the Accidental Release Prevention Requirements for Risk Management Programs (RMP) under Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 112(r)(7). 82 Fed. Reg. 4594. The amendments are intended to modernize EPA’s RMP regulations as required under Executive Order (EO) 13650, which directs the federal government to carry out certain tasks intended to prevent chemical incidents, such as...

On January 6, 2016, the European Union (EU) published its Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/9 regarding the joint submission of data and data sharing under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) in the Official Journal of the European Union. The European Commission (EC) Competent Authorities for REACH and CLP (CARACAL) has been developing this Regulation to clarify further what is meant by determining data sharing in a...

Even if Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) legislation is not enacted, 2016 will be a momentous year. As the curtain closes on eight years of the Obama Administration, there are a number of items expected to be among the “legacy” issues in the chemical and pesticide regulation space. Enhanced protections for farmworkers, more protective assessment policies, and a re-energized toxic chemical assessment program are among the short list of notable achievements that will have some...

What the implementation of new TSCA will look like, along with the general environmental program and emphasis of the new Trump Administration, is very unclear this early in the New Year (the new President will not arrive until January 20). What is more predictable is that the operating environment of OCSPP will change significantly, with uncertain impacts on both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) pesticide and toxic chemical regulatory programs. EPA institutionally may never...

This analysis reviews the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (S. 697) as passed by the Senate on December 17, 2015, and compares it to the previous version of S. 697 (identified as Lautenberg2 in this analysis), passed by the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee in June 2015. This review also briefly compares S. 697 to H.R. 2576, the [Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)] Modernization Act of 2015, which passed the...

On November 23, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a Letter of Interpretation (LOI) on labeling packages for import and export. The LOI discusses labeling scenarios and details OSHA’s interpretation of the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS 2012) requirements for those scenarios. Background On May 26, 2012, OSHA issued a final rule modifying its HCS to conform to the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized...

On November 27, 2015, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) took two actions: (1) it withdrew its proposed rule issued on January 16, 2015, that would have repealed and replaced the existing Article 6 regulations regarding the all-important “clear and reasonable warnings” requirements under Proposition 65 (Prop 65); and (2) it replaced it with a new proposed rule that will repeal and replace the Prop 65 Article 6 regulations (Proposed Rule),...

EPA Launches eDisclosure Portal: On December 9, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is modernizing implementation of its self-disclosure policies by creating a centralized web-based ”eDisclosure” portal to receive and automatically process self-disclosed civil violations of environmental law. 80 Fed. Reg. 76476. Under the automated eDisclosure system, “large and small businesses will quickly be able to get some of their more routine types...