This October, the Science Advisory Board (SAB) received an EPA briefing on a proposed “screening level analysis” that could account for cumulative chemical exposures in Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk evaluations. Released in September 2023, EPA’s draft approach is designed to support the identification of potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations (PESS) and co-exposures with […]
Industry petitioners are arguing before the D.C. Circuit that EPA has overstepped its authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) by assuming powers to regulate worker chemical exposures—powers that they argue that rightfully belong to OSHA. United Steel Workers v. EPA, No. 24-1151, consolidates multiple cases challenging EPA’s May 2024 revisions to the procedures […]
The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) has sued AOC, LLC, a resins and specialty materials company, alleging that it failed to report imports under EPA’s Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule. The Toxic Substances Control Act citizen suit is the latest of several complaints filed by CEH against chemical importers for alleged CDR violations. CEH’s complaint, […]
ExxonMobil deceived the people of California by falsely promoting single-use plastics as sustainable, a complaint filed by California’s attorney general on September 23, 2024, alleges. The lawsuit, filed in the San Francisco County Superior Court, argues that ExxonMobil conducted a “decades-long campaign of deception” to convince the public that plastics recycling was a sustainable solution […]
Verdant Law is pleased to announce that Irene Hantman and Philip Moffat presented on green marketing and product stewardship at the PSX 2024 conference in Denver. Their October 16 presentation covered greenwashing, US regulation of green marketing, and enforcement and litigation. Green marketing is on the rise, partly because consumers are willing to pay more […]
On October 9, 2024, EPA issued a test order under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for the PFAS chemical 6:2 FTAc (CASRN 17527-29-6). The order is the fifth issued under EPA’s National PFAS Testing Strategy, which was launched in 2021. The order employs a tiered testing approach, as required by TSCA. Studies on 6:2 […]
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Justice Department against eBay for allegedly selling products that violate environmental statutes, holding that eBay cannot be held liable under an internet speech law. The September 30 order in United States of America v. eBay, Inc., No. 23-CV-7173, applies section 230 of the Communications Decency […]
Significantly more PFAS substances would be subject to Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting under a proposed rule published by EPA on October 8, 2024. The proposed rule would add 16 individual PFAS and 15 PFAS categories to the TRI list, which currently contains 196 PFAS. The proposed additions would be made due to their potential […]
On August 30, 2024, EPA released its draft risk evaluation for diisononyl phthalate (DINP). The draft risk evaluation determined that most uses of DINP under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) “do not pose risk to the environment or the general population.” The draft only identified three uses that “raise concerns” out of 47 evaluated […]
This August, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released draft language to implement April 2024 amendments to Maine’s PFAS in products legislation. The draft language was described by DEP as an “initial, informal outreach process” with the goal of initiating rulemaking this fall. Under Maine’s PFAS in Products law, DEP has broad authority to […]
