Memoranda

On December 6, 2021, the United Kingdom’s (UK) Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, George Eustice, sent a letter to the Chemical Industries Association (CIA). The letter confirms that the government is exploring a new model for transitional UK REACH registrations — the registrations under UK REACH of substances that were registered in the European Union (EU) in accordance with the EU’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of...

Click here for a PDF brochure of the memorandum. Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and its consulting affiliate The Acta Group (Acta®) and consortia management affiliate B&C® Consortia Management, L.L.C. (BCCM) are pleased to offer you our Forecast 2022. The extraordinary diversity and complexity of global industrial, agricultural, and biocidal chemical initiatives in which our clients engage are reflected in the detailed summary that follows, prepared by the legal,...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on December 29, 2021, the availability of the Draft Scope of the Risk Evaluation for Asbestos Part 2: Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos (Draft Scope). 86 Fed. Reg. 74088. In the Part 2 risk evaluation, EPA will evaluate the conditions of use of asbestos (including other types of asbestos fibers in addition to chrysotile) that EPA had excluded from Part 1 as legacy uses and...

On December 29, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of a draft revision to the risk determination for the cyclic aliphatic bromide cluster (HBCD) risk evaluation issued under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 86 Fed. Reg. 74082. EPA is reconsidering two key aspects of the risk determinations for HBCD. First, EPA proposes that the appropriate approach to these determinations under TSCA and implementing regulations is to make an unreasonable...

On December 20, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the Draft Systematic Review Protocol Supporting TSCA Risk Evaluations for Chemical Substances (Draft Protocol) for public comment. 86 Fed. Reg. 71891. According to EPA’s press release, the Draft Protocol will strengthen EPA’s approach to reviewing and selecting the scientific studies that are used to inform Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) chemical risk evaluations and ensure that EPA has the...

On December 13, 2021, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued a notice proposing modifications to the revisions it first proposed on January 8, 2021, to its Proposition 65 (Prop 65) Article 6 “clear and reasonable warnings” regulations for “short-form” warnings (Notice). More information regarding the January 8, 2021, proposal is available on our blog. OEHHA is requesting comments on its Notice and the modifications to the proposed...

On December 2, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published an updated New Approach Methods (NAM) Work Plan (Updated Work Plan). EPA created the work plan to prioritize its efforts and resources toward activities that aim to reduce the use of vertebrate animal testing while continuing to protect human health and the environment. EPA describes its updated roadmap and identifies steps intended to reduce the use of vertebrate animals for toxicity testing and related research...

On December 7, 2021, the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittees on Environment and on Research and Technology held a joint hearing entitled “Forever Chemicals: Research and Development for Addressing the PFAS Problem.” Four witnesses spoke before the subcommittees on their respective knowledge of the current state of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and where each felt future actions should be focused: Dr. Elsie Sunderland, Gordon McKay Professor of...

On November 23, 2021, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) announced his intention to reintroduce the Protect America’s Children from Toxic Pesticides Act of 2021, that would amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) “to [protect fully] the safety of children and the environment, to remove dangerous pesticides from use, and for other purposes.” Similar legislation was introduced in the House (H.R. 7940) and Senate (S. 4406) in 2020, but the bills did not...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on November 23, 2021, legally mandated changes to the fee requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This is not the fee adjustment we have been awaiting. It is a routine increase that TSCA directs EPA every three years to adjust the fees. The adjustment will go into effect on January 1, 2022, and will apply to all TSCA fees. The fee adjustment will not be retroactive and will not...