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Three Subcommittees of the Green Ribbon Science Panel (Panel) have scheduled several teleconferences between May 31 and June 16, 2011, to discuss potential revisions to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control's (DTSC) Safer Consumer Product Alternatives (SCPA) regulations, as required by AB 1879. These teleconferences are open to the public and comments may be provided. The Panel had previously convened three Subcommittees to discuss issues related to chemical...

As of June 1, 2011, notifications for substances of very high concern (SVHC) identified on the Candidate List before December 1, 2010, contained in articles must be performed. The current Candidate List is available online. Thirty-eight substances are impacted by the June 1, 2011, notification deadline with an additional eight substances to be notified by June 15, 2011. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) conducted a webinar...

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) issued a May 19, 2011, memorandum to U.S. departments and agencies to highlight the importance of regulatory transparency and openness to promoting international trade. The memorandum is important as it telegraphs the growing importance of trade considerations in domestic regulatory issues, and the Administration's renewed emphasis on the...

According to a Federal Register notice scheduled for publication in the May 11, 2011, Federal Register, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is amending the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a) Inventory Update Reporting (IUR) regulations by suspending the next IUR submission period, which would otherwise run from June 1, 2011, to September 30, 2011. The IUR requires manufacturers, including...

On May 6, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated a final significant new use rule (SNUR) under Section 5(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for the chemical substance identified generically as multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), which was the subject of premanufacture notice (PMN) P-08-199. Under the final SNUR, persons intending to manufacture, import, or process MWCNT for a use that is designated as a significant new use by the final rule must notify...

We are pleased to announce that the 2011 edition of Washington, D.C., Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters Service, includes Lynn L. Bergeson on its list of top lawyers in environmental law. To compile the list, Super Lawyers asked lawyers in Washington, D.C., to name the top attorneys. Super Lawyers also performed its own research to find outstanding attorneys who may have been overlooked. Once Super Lawyers assembled its candidate pool, it assessed the background, credentials, and experience of...

In an important and little noticed May 3, 2011, Federal Register notice, the U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration (ITA) requested public comments concerning regulatory cooperation between the U.S. and the European Union (EU) that would help eliminate or reduce unnecessary divergences in regulation and in standards used in regulation that impede U.S. exports. Of critical importance, the ITA plainly recognizes and acknowledges that the main impediments...

EPA states: "The Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) initiated and recently completed an internal review of the use of conditional registrations. The review looked at the variability in the use of the term "conditional registration" in the program, how the internal computer coding associated with conditional registrations has been applied, the status of actions that have been characterized as conditional registrations, and the potential for improvements and clarifications." EPA begins by...

ARGENTINA Argentina's Senate Passes WEEE/RoHS Law: Argentina's Senate passed on May 4, 2011, the draft Law on Minimum Standards for Management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (934/2010), which includes restrictions similar to those in the European Union (EU) Restrictions of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive. The bill's scope closely follows the ten broad product categories listed in Annex 1A of the Waste Electrical and Electronic...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C), B&C Consortia Management, L.L.C. (BCCM), The Acta Group, L.L.C. (Acta), and The Acta Group EU, Ltd (Acta EU) are pleased to announce that B&C is a proud Sponsor of CHEMCON ASIA 2011 and that Leslie MacDougall will speak, Monday, June 27, 2011, at Seminar 1 -- "Global Approach to New Chemicals" on the development of a global testing program, including Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)...