The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) expressly preempts a Pennsylvania law that allegedly requires Monsanto to include a cancer warning on its “Roundup” weedkillers, the Third Circuit ruled on August 15, 2024. The decision in Schaffner v. Monsanto Corp. creates a split with the Ninth and Eleventh Circuits, which have found that similar state-level […]
Two Minnesota consumers who own PFAS-treated carpeting have sued 3M and Chemours, alleging that the chemical companies collaborated for decades to suppress information about the health and environmental risks of PFAS. According to the complaint, the defendants knew that PFAS were dangerous as early as the 1950s but knowingly withheld evidence of their harms from […]
On August 28, 2024, the D.C. Circuit issued an order in Vinyl Institute v. EPA, a case challenging a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) test order issued in March 2022. The mandate signals that neither party intends to appeal the court’s July 5 ruling, which found EPA’s justification for the test order inadequate. The test […]
This August, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) approved a revised stage 1 alternatives analysis report for 6PPD (CASRN 793-24-8) from the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA). The preliminary report identified seven potential 6PPD alternatives for use in tires, which will be further assessed in the stage 2 alternatives analysis report due in […]
For the first time in almost 40 years, EPA has issued an emergency order under section 6(c)(3) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to suspend the registrations of all pesticide products containing the active ingredient dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate (DCPA). The emergency measure is based on DCPA’s thyroid effects in fetuses, which EPA deemed so […]
EPA’s alleged failure to disclose certain information submitted to its New Chemicals Program is subject to judicial review under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the D.C. District Court ruled on August 20, 2024. In Environmental Defense Fund v. Regan, No. 1:20-cv-00762-LLA, five environmental organizations allege that EPA engages […]
On August 8, 2024, EPA finalized updates to the Safer Choice and Design for the Environment Standard. The revised standard implements sustainable packaging criteria and introduces a Safer Choice Cleaning Service Certification for cleaning service providers. Created in 2009, the Safer Choice program allows products such as cleaners and detergents to carry a special label […]
On August 8, 2024, EPA published a proposed rule to restrict use of the solvent 1-bromopropane (1-BP) (CASRN 106-94-5). The proposed rule is the result of the agency’s revised 2022 determination that 1-BP presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health due to effects including neurotoxicity, developmental toxicity, and carcinogenicity. According to EPA, 1-BP […]
This July, EPA released the final Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessment for PFDA. PFDA’s toxicological review is the third completed IRIS assessment for a PFAS. Two additional assessments, for PFHxS and PFNA, are still in progress. Consistent with the draft, the final PFDA assessment concluded that evidence indicates “PFDA exposure is likely to cause […]
On April 8, 2024, EPA released the second version of its interim guidance on the destruction and disposal of PFAS and PFAS-containing materials. The updated interim guidance builds on the initial guidance issued in 2020 by providing new recommendations for the management of PFAS-containing materials. The updated interim guidance focuses on three categories of large-scale […]
