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 […]
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 […]
