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The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has begun a public consultation on a derogation to the exclusion criteria for creosote for product type 8 (PT 8; wood preservatives). Under the European Union (EU) Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR), active substances that meet the exclusion criteria can be approved or renewed only if they meet one or more of the following derogation criteria: exposure is negligible; the active substance is essential to prevent a serious danger to human or animal...
Product Stewardship and the Pandemic: Surviving and Thriving in Disruptive Times, March 31, 2021, 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. EDT, via webinar: The COVID-19 global pandemic has had far-reaching impacts on business operations. To strengthen organizational resilience going forward, we must examine lessons learned and position product stewardship as a key player in business continuity and crisis management. This future-focused webinar hosted by the Product...
The United Kingdom (UK) Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published a REACH eBulletin on February 26, 2021, announcing upcoming deadlines for businesses for UK REACH. As reported in our February 9, 2021, memorandum, “Following Brexit, UK Establishes New Chemical Regulatory Regimes,” the UK brought the European Union (EU) Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation into law on January 1, 2021, as UK REACH. According to HSE,...
In the 21st century, we take as given a continuous stream of new and better products. From electronics to building materials to transportation solutions, the flow of new and better products and applications seems unending. New chemical substances play a fundamental role in creating those products and making existing products better. If the pipeline of new chemicals were closed off, the flow of new products and applications would slow to a trickle and eventually dry up. Modern life as we know it...
February 19, 2021
Notice of Intent Filed to Sue EPA to Address Use and Disposal of “Legacy” Asbestos
On January 26, 2021, several public health advocacy organizations and scientists (Petitioners) filed a notice of intent (NOI) to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to compel it “to perform its non-discretionary duty to address the use and disposal of ‘legacy’ asbestos” in its risk evaluation for asbestos under Section 6(b) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). As reported in our January 4, 2021, memorandum, “EPA Publishes Final Risk Evaluation for...
On February 16, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS). The HCS is the federal-level regulation that sets forth the classification, labeling, Safety Data Sheet (SDS), and training requirements for hazardous chemicals intended to be used, handled, or stored in workplaces. The current HCS is based on the third revised edition (Rev 3) of the United Nations (UN)...
The United Kingdom (UK) completed its withdrawal from the European Union (EU) on December 31, 2020, and, as of January 1, 2021, is a “third country” from the EU perspective. Companies worldwide must be aware of the significant implications for compliance under the following newly established independent chemical regulatory regimes: the Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) (GB) Biocidal Products Regulation (GB BPR); the GB Classification, Labeling, and Packaging Regulation...
The Biden Administration has embraced environmental justice with unprecedented gusto. In its July 2020 Plan to Secure Environmental Justice and Equitable Economic Opportunity (Plan), the Biden Administration sets out in broad terms how it intends to use an “All-of-Government” approach to “rooting out systemic racism in our laws, policies, institutions, and hearts.”...
On February 25, 2021, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will hold a webinar on "Assessing the dispersion stability and dissolution (rate) of nanomaterials in the environment" to discuss the scope, content, and use of Test Guideline No. 318: Dispersion Stability of Nanomaterials in Simulated Environmental Media and its accompanying guidance document. ...
February 1, 2021
EPA Issues TSCA Section 4 Test Orders for Nine Chemicals Undergoing Risk Evaluation
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 15, 2021, that it has issued test orders under Section 4 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to obtain additional data on nine of the next 20 chemicals undergoing risk evaluation. EPA states that after reviewing the available data on these chemicals, it needs additional data and is using its TSCA test order authority to require companies to develop and submit information on environmental hazard and inhalation...