November 12, 2020

Let’s talk about Europe — A Conversation with Bjorn Hansen, Executive Director of ECHA

Download transcript. This week, my colleague, Dr. Jane Vergnes, and I sat down with Bjorn Hansen, Executive Director of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).  As our listeners may know, ECHA is the European Union (EU) regulatory agency charged with managing the scientific, technical, and administrative aspects of chemical management programs in the EU, including the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), the Classification, Labeling, and...
October 29, 2020

What’s Going on with the Brexit Transition Period? — A Conversation with Jane S. Vergnes, Ph.D.

This week, I sat down with Dr. Jane Vergnes, Director of Toxicology here at B&C and Vice President, Scientific Affairs, and Director of Toxicology at B&C’s consulting affiliate, The Acta Group.  Jane has lead responsibility for our United Kingdom (UK) and Brussels offices and has been deeply engaged in Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and the impact of Brexit on our European Union (EU), UK, and U.S. clients. Given the fast...
October 15, 2020

How EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs Is Handling COVID-19 — A Conversation with Lisa Campbell

This week, I sat down with Lisa Campbell, my Partner here at Bergeson & Campbell (B&C®) and its consulting affiliate, The Acta Group (Acta®), and a well-recognized expert on all things regulated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).  With so much attention focused on registering new products to combat COVID-19, we thought it timely to check in again with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) and see...
October 1, 2020

EPA and the Election — A Conversation with Jim Aidala

This week, I sat down with Jim Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant at B&C and its consulting affiliate, The Acta Group.  As a former Assistant Administrator in what is now the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, Jim has a keen sense of how EPA prepares for and transitions to changes in Administrations.  As we prepare for the November elections, we thought it would be good to check-in with Jim...
September 3, 2020

Pesticide Registration in a Pandemic — A Conversation with Sheryl Dolan

This week I sat down with Sheryl Lindros Dolan, Senior Regulatory Consultant at B&C and its consulting affiliate, The Acta Group.  Sheryl is on the front line of pesticide registration and engages in a remarkably diverse range of pesticides and pesticide devices.  Sheryl is particularly gifted at charting regulatory strategies for new and novel pesticide innovations and other agricultural chemical products like biostimulants, biopesticides, and other chemical products....
August 19, 2020

Implementing Lautenberg — A Conversation with former OPPT Director Jeffery T. Morris, Ph.D.

This week I sat down with Dr. Jeff Morris, immediate past Director of EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), the EPA office that regulates the industrial chemical sector.  Jeff directed EPA’s implementation of the 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and headed the office most immediately impacted by the significant changes brought about by the Lautenberg amendments. In our discussion, we talk about how Jeff and his OPPT colleagues managed...
August 6, 2020

What’s going on at EPA right now? — A Conversation with Richard E. Engler, Ph.D.

This week I sat down with Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., B&C’s Director of Chemistry, and all-around TSCA savant. Rich is an organic chemist and a 17-year veteran with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, where Rich managed the Green Chemistry Program and reviewed some 10,000 new chemical notifications. Given all that is going on at EPA with implementing the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which...
July 23, 2020

A TSCA Retrospective — A Conversation with Congressman John M. Shimkus

This week I sat down with Congressman John M. Shimkus, a Member of the United States House of Representatives for the 15th District of Illinois.  As listeners of the podcast know well, Congressman Shimkus is a senior Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  In this capacity, Congressman Shimkus has become a rock star in the industrial chemical community, given his tireless efforts to modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) , which of course resulted...
July 9, 2020

Checking up on EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs — A Conversation with Jim Aidala

This week I sat down with James Aidala, B&C’s Senior Government Affairs Consultant, to catch up on what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) is up to and to get a sense of what we might expect to develop over the remainder of the year.  As a former Assistant Administrator of what is now the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, Jim’s thoughts and analyses are always spot on. We...
June 25, 2020

TSCA at Four — A Conversation with Alexandra Dunn, OCSPP AA

This week I sat down with EPA Assistant Administrator Alexandra Dunn.  As many of our listeners know, Alex Dunn heads the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention and is responsible for implementing the nation’s industrial and agricultural chemical laws, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), respectively. Alex has an extensive background in the environmental field and is a leading voice on TSCA and...