On April 20, 2023, EPA released a proposed rule under Section 6(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”) that would drastically limit the use of methylene chloride. Section 6(a) of the statute provides EPA authority to ban or restrict the manufacture, processing, distribution, and use of chemical substances that pose an unreasonable risk of […]
Canadian researchers have developed a potentially revolutionary method of filtering and eliminating poly-fluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from water. Limiting and removing PFAS has been a national focus and is particularly important because the substances are highly durable. They persist in the environment and the body for years and have been linked to infertility, thyroid […]
In March, EPA hosted two public listening sessions requesting individual feedback regarding concerns about PFAS liability under CERCLA. The listening sessions follow the Agency’s August 2022 proposed rule, which would designate two of the most widely used PFAS as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”). EPA has stated that […]
On April 13, 2023, EPA published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking input and data regarding potential future hazardous substance designation under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of a number of PFAS substances. The ANPRM identifies PFOA, PFOS, seven other PFAS and their salts and structural isomers, precursors to […]
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (“PEER”) and the Energy Justice Network recently filed a with EPA requesting that the Agency require companies to disclose the chemicals discharged from waste incinerators and facilities that recycle plastics (“advanced recycling facilities”). Currently, none of the approximately 400 incinerators and advanced recycling facilities throughout the nation are required to […]
Keurig has reached a $10 million settlement in a class action lawsuit. The case filed in 2018, Smith v. Keurig Green Mountain, Inc., alleged the company falsely advertised its K-Cups as recyclable. The lawsuit claimed violations of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, the fraudulent, unlawful, and unfair prongs of the California Unfair Competition Law, […]
On March 20, 2023, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), on behalf of EPA, filed a motion for a preliminary injunction under the Clean Air Act (“CAA”), asking the federal district court for the eastern district of Louisiana to order Denka Performance Elastomer LLC (“Denka”) to immediately reduce chloroprene emissions from its neoprene manufacturing facility in […]
On March 17, 2023, EPA released additional data for public comment related to the proposed risk management rule for chrysotile asbestos. The proposed rule, introduced in April 2022, aims to prohibit the ongoing use of the only known form of asbestos currently imported into the United States, chrysotile asbestos. The Agency claims that if implemented, […]
On March 14, EPA released a proposed rule establishing national drinking water standards for PFAS. The proposed rule is part of the Agency’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap. It seeks to regulate PFOA and PFOS as individual contaminants and four additional PFAS (PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS, and GenX chemicals) as mixtures. EPA intends to regulate PFOA and PFOS […]
A newly released study has found that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, may not be directly responsible for the increased risk of cancer that has been associated with the weedkiller. The study was conducted by a team of federal and private sector researchers who tested glyphosate and herbicide mixtures using glyphosate on human B-lymphoblastoid […]
