November 6, 2023

EPA Extends the Comment Period on the Proposed Framework to Assess the Risk to the Effectiveness of Human and Animal Drugs Posed by Certain Antibacterial or Antifungal Pesticides

On September 26, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested comment on a proposed framework to strengthen the assessment of antimicrobial-resistance risks associated with pesticide use. EPA, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), under the oversight of the White House Executive Office of the President, have published a concept note. EPA states that the concept note is the first step in creating the framework...
November 3, 2023

EPA Proposes to Ban TCE

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed on October 31, 2023, to ban all uses of  trichloroethylene (TCE) after determining that it presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health under its conditions of use as documented in EPA’s November 2020 risk evaluation (2020 TCE RE) and January 2023 revised risk determination (2023 Revised RD) pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 88 Fed. Reg. 74712. According to EPA’s October 23, 2023, press...
October 30, 2023

EPA Proposes to Amend TSCA Risk Evaluation Framework Rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on October 19, 2023, a proposed rule that would amend the procedural framework rule for conducting risk evaluations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Published in the Federal Register on October 30, 2023, the proposed rule states that the purpose of risk evaluations under TSCA is to determine whether a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, without considering costs or...
October 12, 2023

FDA Seeks Comment on Cosmetics Direct and Forms Regarding Registration of Cosmetic Product Facility and Cosmetic Product Listing

On September 15, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it is seeking comment on its newly developed draft electronic submission portal (Cosmetics Direct) and paper forms (Forms FDA 5066 and 5067). The submission portal and paper forms are part of FDA’s implementation of the new registration and listing requirements mandated by the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA). FDA has provided screenshots of the draft electronic system, draft Form...
October 3, 2023

EPA Releases Final TSCA Section 8(a)(7) Reporting Rule for PFAS

On September 28, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a long-overdue final rule under Section 8(a)(7) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) regarding reporting and recordkeeping requirements for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). As discussed below, the final rule is not what many of us expected, nor wanted. EPA states that the reporting rule is a statutory requirement under the fiscal year (FY) 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that requires...
September 28, 2023

EPA and DOJ Claim eBay Unlawfully Sold Pesticides, Banned Chemical Products, and Devices That Defeat Pollution Controls on Motor Vehicles

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 27, 2023, that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), on behalf of EPA, filed a complaint against eBay Inc. (eBay) “for unlawfully selling, offering for sale, causing the sale of, and distributing hundreds of thousands of products” in violation of the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). According to EPA, the complaint seeks...
September 25, 2023

CPSC Requests Information on PFAS in Consumer Products

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) published a request for information (RFI) on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) used in commerce or potentially used in consumer products, potential exposures associated with the use of PFAS in consumer products, and potential human health effects associated with exposures to PFAS from their use in consumer products. 88 Fed. Reg. 64890. CPSC also announced the availability of a contractor report with a focus on PFAS that are...
September 7, 2023

NSTC’s Sustainable Chemistry Strategy Team Releases Sustainable Chemistry Report

On August 3, 2023, the Joint Subcommittee on Environment, Innovation, and Public Health Sustainable Chemistry Strategy Team (Sustainable Chemistry ST) of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) published a report entitled Sustainable Chemistry Report: Framing the Federal Landscape. As reported in our January 19, 2021, memorandum, the fiscal year (FY) 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) included the text of the bipartisan Sustainable Chemistry Research and...
September 7, 2023

EPA Issues Third TSCA Test Order for PFAS

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 15, 2023, that it issued the third Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) test order requiring testing on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under EPA’s National PFAS Testing Strategy. EPA has ordered the Chemours Company FC LLC, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, and 3M Company to conduct and submit testing on 2,3,3,3-Tetrafluoro-2-(heptafluoropropoxy)propanoyl fluoride (HFPO-DAF), “a substance used as...
August 29, 2023

EPA Issues Third TSCA Test Order for PFAS

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 15, 2023, that it issued the third Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) test order requiring testing on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under EPA’s National PFAS Testing Strategy. EPA has ordered the Chemours Company FC LLC, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, and 3M Company to conduct and submit testing on 2,3,3,3-Tetrafluoro-2-(heptafluoropropoxy)propanoyl fluoride (HFPO-DAF), “a substance used as...