All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On October 20, 2021, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on “Evaluating the Federal Response to the Persistence and Impacts of PFAS Chemicals on our Environment.” The sole witness called before the Committee was the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water, Radhika Fox. The focus of the hearing was to address the recently released EPA Strategic Roadmap for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)....

On October 18, 2021, the Biden Administration announced a multi-agency plan to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination nationwide. According to the White House, agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Defense (DOD), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), will take actions to...

On October 14, 2021, Lynn L. Bergeson, President, The Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted by Bloomberg Law regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) plan to release a national strategy to reduce plastic waste, improve recycling, and boost the market for recycled goods. Ms. Bergeson discussed these issues during the "Moving Towards “Cradle-to-Cradle”: Regulatory Drivers and Barriers in Reducing Waste and Achieving Sustainable Lifecycle Management...

On September 14, 2021, the United Nations (UN) published an electronic version of the ninth revised edition (Rev 9) of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) available for free for consultation purposes. The amendments to the eighth revision of the GHS (Rev 8) include extensive revision of Chapter 2.1 (explosives) to address explosion hazard determination better when explosives are not in transit; the revision of decision logic; the revision of...

On October 7, 2021, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, The Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted by Chemical Watch in the article “TSCA new chemicals review process has ground to a halt, say industry groups.” The TSCA new chemicals review process has "slowed dramatically" over the past year, according to trade groups and industry attorneys, a development they say poses a threat to innovation and the introduction of sustainable chemicals. […] "The current...

The United Kingdom (UK) Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has published a UK REACH: Grandfathered Registrations Notified Substances List. According to an item in the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) October 1, 2021, UK REACH eBulletin, the list contains the names and Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS)/European Community (EC) numbers for substances taken from notifications made under UK REACH Article 127B(4)(a). Article 127B(4)(a) required...

On 13 July 2021, Maine became the first state in the US to enact extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation for packaging. Quickly thereafter, on 6 August, Oregon became the second state to enact a similar EPR law applicable to packaging. Other states are poised to enact similar legislation, following trends more mature in the European Union (EU) and elsewhere around the world....

Available On Demand: “PFAS Reporting Rules -- What Every Company Needs To Know” Webinar, Presented September 9: The Acta Group (Acta®) Affiliate Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is pleased to offer the recording and slides from our “PFAS Reporting Rules -- What Every Company Needs to Know” webinar focusing on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed reporting rules for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Click the link...

On September 30, 2021, Lynn L. Bergeson, President, The Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted by Chemical Watch regarding Richard Denison’s announcement that he is retiring from the  Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) after nearly 35 years. Lynn Bergeson, managing director at Bergeson & Campbell, expressed her appreciation for Dr Denison’s career. "He has made invaluable contributions to the law, science, and policy of TSCA, on which we may on occasion disagree, but...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) concluded last week a three-day informal public hearing on its February 16, 2021, notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS). The NPRM was open for comment until May 19, 2021. OSHA stated that it would schedule an informal public hearing on the NPRM if a request was made during the comment period. A request was made, and OSHA scheduled the public hearing for September 21-23,...