TSCAblog®

After the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denied a 2016 petition filed under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requesting that EPA consider whether fluoride in drinking water presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health, a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGO) promptly filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Food & Water Watch v. EPA (No. 3:17-cv-02162-EMC). After a bench trial in 2020, the...

On September 22, 2024, the State of California Department of Justice announced that it filed a lawsuit in the San Francisco County Superior Court against ExxonMobil “for allegedly engaging in a decades-long campaign of deception that caused and exacerbated the global plastics pollution crisis.” California “seeks to compel ExxonMobil, which promotes and produces the largest amount of polymers — essentially the building blocks used to make single-use plastic — that become plastic...

On September 20, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed a motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for a voluntary remand of the case brought by Cherokee Concerned Citizens or review of an Order for a New Chemical Substance under Section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Cherokee Concerned Citizens v. EPA (No. 23-1096). EPA states that it wishes to withdraw the Order and reconsider...

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing on September 26, 2024, on “Examining the Public Health Impacts of [Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)] Exposures.” The Committee will hear from the following witnesses:...

On September 20, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is extending the submission deadline for 2024 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) reports from September 30, 2024, to November 22, 2024. The CDR regulations require manufacturers (including importers) of chemicals listed on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory to report data on the manufacturing, processing, and use of those chemicals every four years. For the 2024 data submission period, this applies...

Congress has not passed legislation to fund the federal government for fiscal year 2025 (FY 2025) that begins October 1, 2024. The House of Representatives on September 18 tried — and failed — to pass legislation to fund the government into March 2025. The good news, however, is that Congress is expected to fund the federal government before the current funding expires at midnight, September 30. Congress will return to Washington, D.C., after the election...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 18, 2024, the launch of an Outdoor Use Safer Choice label. According to EPA, this new label expands on its existing Safer Choice label and will identify outdoor use products — such as pet care products, fire defense products, and car, boat, or grill cleaners — that meet additional EPA criteria to help protect the environment. EPA states that it examines every ingredient, no matter its...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) called for nominations on September 18, 2024, of scientific and technical experts that EPA can consider for service as ad hoc peer reviewers to assist the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) with the peer review of the draft risk evaluation for 1,3-butadiene conducted under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 89 Fed. Reg. 76467. EPA states that it will submit the draft risk evaluation of 1,3-butadiene and associated...

On September 12, 2024, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a report entitled Synthesis report on understanding Perfluoropolyethers (PFPEs) and their life cycle. OECD states that the report presents a synthesis of publicly available information on PFPEs with the aim of elucidating the identities of PFPEs on the global market and analyzing their life cycle. OECD notes that this includes their production and use, presence of other per- and polyfluoroalkyl...

The Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule requires manufacturers (including importers) to report data to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) every four years. The 2024 submission period began June 1, 2024, and will end September 30, 2024. The CDR rule requires all companies to report data electronically using e-CDRweb through EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX) system. CDR reporting in CDX is currently malfunctioning, however. EPA has issued two alerts:...