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White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Requests Information on the Regulation of Biotechnology

January 10, 2023 in /by

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) recently released two Requests for Information (RFI) regarding the National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative. The Initiative is intended to advance biotechnology and biomanufacturing for innovative solutions in a number of areas, including health, climate change, energy, food security, agriculture, and supply chain resilience. The goal […]

EPA Issues Next Test Order Under National PFAS Testing Strategy — PFAS Used in Plastics at Issue

January 10, 2023 in , /by

EPA has issued its second round of Test Orders under its National PFAS Testing Strategy. The test orders require companies to conduct and submit testing on trifluoro (trifluoromethyl) oxirane (HFPO) (CASRN 428-59-1), a PFAS substance used in making plastics. According to EPA’s Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) database, more than 1,000,000 points of HFPO are manufactured […]

EPA Publishes Final IRIS Assessment of PFBA

January 7, 2023 in , /by

In December, EPA published the IRIS Toxicological Review of Perfluorobutanoic Acid and Related Salts. The Agency’s assessment addresses potential cancer and noncancer human health effects of exposure to perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) and its related salts. The most significant of the IRIS findings is that sufficient oral exposure to PFBA likely causes disruptions to normal thyroid […]

EPA Revokes Interim Approval of Glyphosate

January 5, 2023 in , , /by

EPA recently withdrew its 2020 Interim Approval of glyphosate, often referred to by its trade name Roundup. Interim approvals are part of a conditional registration process used by the Agency to allow new active ingredients to enter the market for an unspecified period of time while the registrant generates missing data required by the Agency […]

EPA Updates New Chemical Review Program Webpage to Increase Transparency

January 5, 2023 in , , /by

In December 2022, EPA announced updates to its New Chemicals Review Program website to include additional information and metrics on the Agency’s review of new chemicals and significant new uses.  In the announcement, the Agency stressed its commitment to increasing efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency through the chemical review process. To progress in this goal, the […]

Danone Waters Sued Over Label’s “Carbon Neutral” Statements

January 4, 2023 in , /by

A class action suit was recently brought against Danone Waters of America Inc. The company sells bottled water worldwide under various brand names, including Aqua, Bonafont, and Evian. The lawsuit is specific to its Evian-branded water, which petitioners allege is deceptively and factually inaccurately marketed as “carbon neutral,” a practice referred to as “greenwashing.” The […]

EPA Allegedly Refuses to Address Toxic Pesticide Ingredients

January 3, 2023 in , /by

The Center for Food Safety and other non-profit organizations dedicated to environmental advocacy brought suit against the EPA, claiming that the Agency fails to assess the full environmental and health impacts of pesticides in its approval process. Current EPA regulations require pesticide producers to submit toxicity data on active ingredients as part of the registration […]

Federal Trade Commission Seeks Comment on Green Guides

December 21, 2022 in , , , /by

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a request for public comment on updating its  Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (“Green Guides”), which provides guidelines for businesses that want to use environmental marketing claims in their advertising and labeling. The Green Guides aim to help businesses avoid making deceptive or misleading environmental. This […]

EPA Releases White Paper on Modernizing the Process and Bringing Innovative Science to Evaluating New Chemicals Under TSCA

December 17, 2022 in /by

EPA recently released a white paper, The New Chemicals Collaborative Research Program: Modernizing the Process and Bringing Innovative Science to Evaluate New Chemicals Under TSCA. The document was produced as a summary report to the Board of Scientific Counselors as an integrative research plan under the 2023-2026 Chemical Safety for Sustainability (CSS) Strategic Research Action […]