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The European Commission (EC) is holding a targeted consultation on potential revisions to the Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) to introduce information requirements to improve the identification of substances with endocrine disrupting potential. The EC has developed two different options that would amend the Annexes to include new standard tests providing information on endocrine disrupting...

On August 11, 2021, Lynn L. Bergeson, President, The Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted by Chemical Watch regarding the possibility that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will extend compliance dates for Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) prohibitions on phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)) before a pause on enforcement is set to expire early next month.  Lynn Bergeson, a partner with Bergeson & Campbell who advises...

On August 12, 2021, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, The Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted by Bloomberg Law regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) review process for new chemicals. Richard E. Engler, who directs chemistry at Bergeson and Campbell PC, said the EPA still decided to regulate a new chemical after concluding it would pose “no unreasonable risk"—the safest conclusion the agency can reach. Engler said his client...

On August 11, 2021, Lynn L. Bergeson, President, The Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted by Chemical Watch regarding the compliance challenges of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) reporting rule. The language of the NDAA limits the EPA’s ability to make certain changes. For example, it says a final rule must be issued by 1 January 2023, and reporting must cover "each person who has manufactured a chemical...

On July 26, 2021, Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, introduced the Food Chemical Reassessment Act of 2021 (H.R. 4694), which would require the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to study and reassess chemicals used in food. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) joined Schakowsky in introducing the legislation. According to Schakowsky’s July 26, 2021, press release, “thousands” of...

In a July 30, 2021, filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that it cannot “meaningfully commence” risk management rulemaking for 1,4-dioxane until it nears completion of its reconsideration of the final risk evaluation. EPA released the final risk evaluation for 1,4-dioxane on January 8, 2021, in the final weeks of the Trump Administration. On June 30, 2021, the Biden-Harris EPA announced several policy...

To help achieve the ambitious goals of the European Green Deal, the European Commission adopted the chemicals strategy for sustainability in October 2020. The strategy suggests that the Commission can address pressing human health and environmental concerns by reinforcing Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on the classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures – one of the EU’s cornerstones for regulating chemicals....

WEBINAR -- PFAS Reporting Rules - What Every Company Needs to Know, September 9, 2021, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (EDT): When it comes to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is not messing around. The Agency announced on June 10, 2021, three actions intended to protect communities from PFAS: Proposing a rule designed to obtain comprehensive data on more than 1,000 PFAS manufactured in the United States, ...

On July 28, 2021, Lynn L. Bergeson, President, The Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted by Chemical Watch regarding a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plan to evaluate fluorinated plastic food containers for potential per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) contamination.  The FDA said that while companies must fulfil "strict data requirements" to demonstrate non-hazardous conditions of use before approval, it reassesses risks as knowledge advances, such as by...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) convened a public webinar on July 27, 2021, to engage with stakeholders on the development of a proposed rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to implement a tiered data collection strategy intended to inform EPA’s prioritization, risk evaluation, and risk management activities for chemical substances or mixtures. According to the July 14, 2021, Federal Register notice announcing the webinar, EPA currently...