On September 23, 2023, EPA announced that it is adding 10 chemicals to the Safer Chemicals Ingredients List (SCIL), a list of chemicals which have been reviewed by EPA’s Safer Choice Program and meet its Safer Choice Criteria. The chemicals on the list are considered to be among the safest chemicals for their functional use […]
On behalf of EPA, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against the online retailer eBay for selling and distributing “hundreds of thousands of products” that allegedly violate the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). DOJ first alleges that eBay […]
A coalition of environmental and health groups led by the Environmental Defense Fund have petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to revoke approval of fluorinated polyethylene as an indirect food additive. According to the petition, manufacture of fluorinated polyethylene produces PFAS, including harmful perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids if water or oxygen is present. FDA approved […]
This September, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced the approval of the first PFAS-free foam for firefighting activities at military installations. The approval is an important step in phasing out the use of PFAS-containing aqueous film forming foams (AFFFs), which are used to extinguish liquid fires. The day after the foam received DOD approval, the […]
Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against EPA for failing to complete risk evaluations for 22 substances that may cause harm to humans and the environment. Under section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act, EPA is required to conduct risk evaluations on “high priority” existing substances to determine whether they pose an unreasonable risk […]
EPA has released a beta version of ChemExpo, a free, publicly available web application that allows users to explore and visualize data on how chemicals are used in commerce. ChemExpo will serve as a user-friendly interface for EPA’s Chemicals and Products Database (CPDat). According to EPA, CPDat maps “more than 49,000 chemicals to a set […]
Health Canada has released a notice of intent requesting comments on proposed regulatory requirements for consumer chemical products under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA). The Department says it will use the comments and information received to shape a potential regulatory initiative that would mandate information disclosure and other requirements for certain human health […]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released draft guidance, Draft Guidance for Industry: Registration and Listing of Product Facilities and Products, on the new regulatory requirements established in the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA). Among other provisions, MoCRA added section 607 to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act (FFDCA), requiring cosmetic […]
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas will be tasked with determining whether EPA’s Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) enforcement actions against Berkey, a water filters brand, were arbitrary and capricious in the case Shepherd v. Regan. The case concerns seven Stop Sale, Use and Removal Orders (SSUROs) issued by […]
Canada has enacted the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations, SOR/2022-138, prohibiting the manufacture, import, export, and sale of many single-use plastics (SUPs). The ban will cover the following six types of SUPs by the end of 2025: Checkout bags; Cutlery; Foodservice ware containing expanded polystyrene foam, extruded polystyrene foam (commonly known by the trademark Styrofoam), polyvinyl […]
