In December 2022, two separate lawsuits were filed against Inhance Technologies USA regarding its alleged production of certain PFAS substances in violation of the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”). These lawsuits are important as they raise novel questions of TSCA interpretation and enforcement. The first lawsuit was filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment […]
The United States Congress has introduced a bill (H.R. 3622, The Cosmetic Supply Chain Transparency Act of 2023) to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to increase transparency regarding the ingredients used in cosmetic and personal care products. Currently, cosmetic brand owners are not entitled to reliable and accurate information from their suppliers, […]
Using its authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA has released a proposed rule to ban the use of perchloroethylene (“PCE”) for most commercial and industrial uses. (PCE is also referred to as perc and tetrachloroethylene.) PCE is used in a number of applications and industries, including petroleum manufacturing, aerosol degreasing, and dry […]
On February 7, The European Chemical Agency (ECHA) proposed a ban on per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as part of the European Union’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (“REACH”) regulation. The ban, which would include about 10,000 PFAS substances, could greatly impact US companies that export virtually any product to the European Union […]
EPA has released its first-ever Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) National Review (“Review”), which provides a comprehensive analysis of data submitted to the Agency during the 2020 CDR reporting cycle. The report presents information about chemicals that were manufactured and imported into the US from 2016 through 2019. In its press release on the Review, the […]
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider overturning the Chevron doctrine in the Court’s October 2023 term. Chevron is the legal doctrine that has given federal regulators broad power to define their authority. The appeal in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, by four New Jersey fishing companies, asks the court to overturn the watershed […]
In April, EPA released the Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution. This strategy document, part of EPA’s Series on Building a Circular Economy for All, outlines voluntary actions aimed at eliminating plastic waste released into the environment from land-based sources by 2040. Under this plan, EPA seeks to reduce, reuse, recycle, collect, and capture […]
Last month FDA published a webinar titled Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 – Key Terms and Provisions. The purpose of the program was to provide an overview of the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (“MOCRA”). The Act imposes new reporting and registration requirements on cosmetic manufacturers. In addition, under MOCRA, cosmetic manufacturing […]
Cherokee Concerned Citizens, on behalf of the Cherokee Forest neighborhood a fenceline community in Pascagoula, Mississippi, has filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for review of a TSCA section 5(e) consent order. The consent order covers 18 chemicals that were the subject of premanufacture notifications submitted […]
ASTM International, in celebration of its 125th anniversary, solicited case studies from committee members to showcase standards that have had a significant impact on society. One of the winning entries highlights a set of standards for biodegradable plastic from Committee D20 on Plastics. Two companion specification standards for compostable plastics and paper coatings have been […]
