In Brief: Entities subject to EPA regulation are closely watching the U.S. Supreme Court’s potential reframing of the Chevron deference doctrine. But they should also pay close attention to EPA’s extra-regulatory scientific...more
Companies using formaldehyde in their operations should be aware of recent developments with the potential to substantially impact litigation concerning this substance. With regulations significantly reducing permissible...more
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a 444-page pre-publication summary of new proposed rules intended to reduce hazardous air emissions from chemical manufacturers in the Synthetic Organic...more
During its first meeting of the year, scheduled for March 22-23, the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections (SACHRP) will review a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that faulted both the Food...more
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Program undertakes assessments of exposures to various chemicals in order to determine corresponding health hazards and toxicity values....more
On January 25, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) reaffirmed its interpretation of ethylene oxide (“EtO”) requirements which may signal EPA’s increased scrutiny of chemical emissions generally and the...more
Key Takeaways - • Ethylene Oxide (EO) remains a high priority for the Biden Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from both a risk and an environmental justice standpoint. Expect that spotlight to continue next year and...more
The first 100 days of the Biden Administration saw a flurry of activities at the federal level seeking to address PFAS, a class of thousands of manmade chemicals notoriously known as Forever Chemicals because they don’t break...more
In the twilight of the Trump Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency issued an internal procedural rule entitled “Strengthening Transparency in Pivotal Science Underlying Significant Regulatory Actions and...more
On April 17, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the draft scope documents for the remaining seven of the 20 chemicals designated as high-priority substances for risk evaluation under the Toxic...more
The Global Impact Investing Network launched IRIS+, a new tool for investors to measure, manage, and optimize the impact of their investments. The tool allows investors to identify evidence-based metrics relevant to impact...more
On March 27, 2019, the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight and Subcommittee on Environment held a hearing on “EPA’s IRIS Program: Reviewing its Progress and Roadblocks Ahead.” ...more
On March 21, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it was releasing a list of 40 chemicals to begin the prioritization process required by the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 84 Fed....more
Earlier today, US EPA released the inaugural draft list of 20 “high priority” and 20 “low priority” chemicals for risk evaluation purposes as required by the 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). ...more
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released on March 6, 2019, a report entitled High-Risk Series: Substantial Efforts Needed to Achieve Greater Progress on High-Risk Areas. GAO’s high-risk program identifies...more
On March 4, 2019, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report titled Chemical Assessments: Status of EPA’s Efforts to Produce Assessments and Implement the Toxic Substances Control Act. The report...more
TSCA/FIFRA/TRI - EPA OIG Finds Opportunities Exist To Improve CDR Rule: On July 27, 2018, EPA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report entitled EPA’s Chemical Data Reporting Rule Largely Implemented as Intended,...more
Addressing the standard for establishing whether a prior art reference qualifies as a “printed publication,” the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) denied institution of inter partes review (IPR), finding that the...more
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/NTP/TRI - EPA Promulgates Final TSCA Reporting And Recordkeeping Rule For Nanoscale Materials: After over a decade of effort, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued on January 12, 2017, a...more
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/NTP/TRI - EPA Proposes To Add Nonylphenol Ethoxylates To Section 313: On November 16, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to add nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE) as a category for...more
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/NTP/TRI - EPA Issues Statements Of Findings For September 2016: On September 23, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice announcing its findings after its review of Toxic...more
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/NTP/TRI - EPA Extends Comment Period On PIPs: On August 17, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) extended the comment period on its White Paper describing how EPA intends to modify its...more
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/NTP/TRI - EPA Releases TRI Preliminary Dataset For Calendar Year 2015: On July 20, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI)...more
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/NTP/TRI - EPA Launches Advisory Panels: On June 15, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched two advisory panels designed to facilitate small businesses to provide feedback to EPA...more
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/NTP/TRI - TSCA Reform Bill Is Sent To President Obama For Signature: It has been reported that on June 14, 2016, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate President Pro Tempore Orrin Hatch (R-UT) signed...more