Chemical Watch Features Comments by Lynn L. Bergeson and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Regarding Compliance Challenges of EPA’s PIP Rule

On September 14, 2021, Lynn L. Bergeson, President, The Acta Group (Acta^®) and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, Acta, were quoted by Chemical Watch in the article “US EPA ‘turns up the heat’ on industry to demonstrate PIP rule challenges.”

The EPA, however, has made clear that it will not give [companies] further time lightly. 

Many commenters “did not provide sufficiently specific information about their operations to support their assertions” that more time was needed to comply, it said in its 3 September announcement. “Without this more specific information from suppliers, EPA will be unlikely to extend the compliance dates again.”

The latest announcement “turns the heat up on industry to document the logistical challenges occasioned by the rule,” said Lynn Bergeson, managing director at Bergeson & Campbell. “Plainly, EPA needs evidence to support its position in the all-but-certain litigation that will follow.”

But one hurdle industry commenters have had – and may still continue to have – is surveying their global supply chains, said Rich Engler, director of chemistry at B&C. 

“Surveying every supplier of every part in a product with 10,000 or 100,000 parts is not a simple exercise,” said Dr Engler. 

That could make it difficult for companies to provide more specific details. “If a company does not yet know if PIP is present in any particular part in a complex article, the company cannot yet know if the PIP can be replaced or how long the replacement might take,” he said. 

And industry can be sure that any requests for more time will be met with resistance. 

See – https://chemicalwatch.com/334427/us-epa-turns-up-the-heat-on-industry-to-demonstrate-pip-rule-challenges (subscription required)