The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 19, 2022, that it will propose revisions to the Risk Management Program (RMP) rule to protect further vulnerable communities from chemical accidents, especially those living near facilities with high accident rates. According to EPA, the “Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention” (SCCAP) rule “would strengthen the existing program and includes new safeguards that have not been addressed in prior RMP...
August 22, 2022
EPA Will Discontinue Use of Exposure Modeling Thresholds When Assessing Health and Environmental Risks of New Chemicals
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 22, 2022, that as part of its commitment to re-evaluate policies and practices under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) New Chemicals Program to ensure they adhere to statutory requirements and the Biden Administration’s executive orders and directives, it has updated its policy to discontinue the use of exposure modeling thresholds when assessing the health and environmental risks of new chemicals under TSCA....
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a webinar on August 17, 2022, on the “EPA PFAS Strategic Roadmap: Research Tools and Resources.” The webinar provided a brief overview of EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap and ongoing efforts by EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) to address key per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) research needs for environmental decision-making. During the webinar, ORD scientists highlighted two recently released data sources:...
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) held a webinar on June 27, 2022, on an initiative to convert historical letters of interpretation (LOI) applicable to the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) that have been issued to specific stakeholders into broadly applicable frequently asked questions (FAQ) on its website. A recording of the webinar is available online. During the webinar, Bill Quade, Deputy Associate...
On July 5, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule amending the regulations governing significant new uses of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to align with revisions that were made to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communications Standard (HCS) and changes to the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) respirator certification...
On August 5, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its modified ten-year regulatory review schedule. 87 Fed. Reg. 47947. FTC reviews its rules and industry guides on a ten-year schedule to ensure they remain relevant and not unduly burdensome. FTC publishes its review schedule each year, with adjustments made in response to public input, changes in the marketplace, and resource demands. FTC, in its discretion, may modify or reorder the schedule in the future to...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) New Chemicals Program held a webinar on July 27, 2022, to provide an in-depth look at its analysis of common issues that cause EPA to have to reconduct risk assessments (“rework”) of new chemicals. As reported in our June 27, 2022, memorandum, in June 2022, EPA announced a broad outreach effort to describe and to discuss with stakeholders how EPA evaluates engineering data (i.e., data related to environmental release and...
July 21, 2022
Draft Revision to Risk Determination for 1-BP Finds 1-BP, as a Whole Chemical Substance, Presents an Unreasonable Risk
On July 20, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of and requested public comment on a draft revision to the risk determination for the 1-bromopropane (1-BP) risk evaluation issued under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 87 Fed. Reg. 43265. EPA states that the draft revision to the 1-BP risk determination reflects its announced policy changes to ensure the public is protected from unreasonable risks from chemicals in a way that is...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule on July 18, 2022, updating the list of chemicals subject to toxic chemical release reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA). 87 Fed. Reg. 42651. The final rule updates the regulations to identify five per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that must be reported pursuant to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA)...
July 18, 2022
Defra Begins Public Consultation on Extending the UK REACH Transitional Registration Deadlines
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has begun a public consultation on extending the UK Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) submission deadlines for transitional registrations — the registrations under UK REACH of substances that were registered in the European Union (EU) in accordance with EU REACH on or before December 31, 2020, the end of the Brexit transition period. Defra seeks comment on two options to...