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On January 22, 2025, in a House Subcommittee on the Environment hearing, the president of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) urged Congress to immediately make specific improvements to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) program to end industry uncertainty. The hearing, titled “A Decade Later: Assessing the Legacy and Impact of the Frank R. Lautenberg […]
On January 14, 2025, the EPA released the final risk evaluation for diisononyl phthalate (DINP), which was conducted under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The EPA concluded that DINP presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health because workers could be exposed to high concentrations of DINP in mist when spraying adhesive, sealant, […]
The EPA recently announced it has proposed its eighth rule under the new Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) process to protect workers from inhalation exposure to C.I. Pigment Violet 29 (PV29), a chemical that presents a risk of lung damage. If finalized, the rule would require respiratory protection and cleaning programs in workplaces where PV29 […]
On December 9, 2024, the EPA announced it finalized the latest risk management rules for trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) under the 2016 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) amendments. TCE is an extremely toxic chemical known to cause liver cancer, kidney cancer, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It also causes damage to the central nervous system, liver, […]
In the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024, the EPA finalized 215 settlement agreements with companies small and large across the United States. This represents a decrease in enforcement actions—down from 482 penalties issued in Q3. The actions taken resulted in $7,739,116 in fines. Here are some of the highlights. CAA violations yield biggest fine from […]
On December 20, 2024, a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Confidential Business Information (CBI) Rule “is unlawful insofar as it requires entities reporting by non-confidential accession numbers and without knowledge of the underlying chemical identity to assert CBI claims for the underlying chemical identity in order to maintain the chemical identity’s confidentiality.” […]
In November 2024, the EPA released the final revised risk determination and final supplement to the risk evaluation for 1,4-dioxane. The evaluation determines that 1,4-dioxane presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health under the conditions of use. This chemical is used primarily as a solvent in a variety of commercial and industrial applications, such […]
The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) Formaldehyde Panel sent a detailed letter, dated November 4, 2024, to the EPA to bring its attention to “the substantial comments submitted to the EPA from a diverse group of stakeholders and peer reviewers raising major issues with the EPA’s 2024 draft formaldehyde risk assessment.” The ACC alleges the Biden […]
On September 5, 2024, the EPA published a direct final rule granting a deadline extension for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) reporting requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8 (a)(7). The reporting period was scheduled to begin on November 12, 2024, but the final rule delays the beginning of the reporting period […]
On March 21, 2024, a federal appeals court ruled the EPA overstepped its authority in ordering Inhance Technologies, LLC, to stop producing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during the fluorination of plastic containers. Background On December 1, 2023, the EPA issued orders to Inhance, a Houston-based plastics treatment company, directing it not to produce PFAS […]