On December 13, 2024, EPA finalized a rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requiring manufacturers of 16 chemical substances to submit unpublished health and safety studies to EPA. The agency will use this information to inform possible evaluation and regulation of these substances under TSCA section 6. Once the rule takes effect on […]
A proposed federal class action has been filed against W.L. Gore & Associates, accusing the company of systematically misleading customers about the sustainability of its widely used Gore-Tex Fabric. The February 11 complaint alleges that Gore-Tex is produced using PFAS, chemicals that pose “extremely dangerous health and environmental effects” and allegedly shed from Gore-Tex during […]
On January 13, 2025, EPA and OSHA released a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) governing the agencies’ coordination on “existing chemical substances that are subject to prioritization, risk evaluation, and risk management by EPA under section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).” The MOU provides for regularly scheduled updates between the agencies on […]
The first three trials have been scheduled to begin in October 2025 in a multidistrict litigation with over 5,800 plaintiffs claiming that exposure to the pesticide paraquat dichloride caused them to develop Parkinson’s disease. A second set of trials is scheduled to begin in April 2026. The case was filed in June 2021. A previous […]
The D.C. District Court has dismissed a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) citizen suit seeking to speed up the agency’s rulemaking on PFAS formation during plastic fluorination. The court held that an EPA request for information satisfied TSCA’s requirement that the agency “initiate…action” within 180 days to mitigate “significant risk.” The environmental groups behind Public […]
On December 18, 2024, EPA published a final rule revising the new chemicals review provisions under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The rule: Requires an EPA determination on each notice before a submitter may begin manufacturing or processing the chemical, as mandated by amended TSCA; Clarifies the level of detail expected for premanufacture notices […]
Opening briefs have been filed by industry petitioners, the Sierra Club, and EPA in a case challenging EPA’s 2024 rule banning most uses of methylene chloride. The lawsuit has critical implications not only for EPA’s regulation of the solvent but for future risk management rules and risk evaluations promulgated under the Toxic Substances Control Act […]
EPA’s 2023 rule revising confidential business information (CBI) claims under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is only unlawful insofar as it could lead to certain inadvertent waivers of confidentiality by downstream entities, the D.C. Circuit ruled on December 20, 2024. The case, Environmental Defense Fund v. EPA, No. 23-01166, consolidated petitions from the Environmental […]
On December 18, 2024, EPA designated five chemicals as high-priority substances, automatically initiating risk evaluations for them under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). In a separate rulemaking, EPA also initiated the prioritization process for another round of five substances. The five chemicals now undergoing risk evaluations are: Vinyl chloride (CASRN 75-01-4) Acetaldehyde (CASRN 75-07-0) […]
On December 10, 2024, EPA announced its schedule for completing Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk evaluations for five phthalates: BBP, DBP, DEHP, DIBP and DCHP. In the next few weeks, EPA expects to release a draft risk evaluation for DCHP and a slew of supporting documents—including a first-of-its-kind cumulative risk assessment (CRA) for six […]
