Today, the U.S. Senate broke its months-long deadlock on chemical safety reform and approved by voice vote the “Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act” (S. 697). The bill, sponsored by Senators David Vitter (R-LA) and Tom Udall (D-NM), overhauls the decades-old Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for the first time. We […]
Last week, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced that it is considering adding 11 substances to the Authorization List, also known as Annex XIV of REACH. The agency is soliciting comments on its draft recommendation, including “comments on the priority of the substances, their uses, possible exemptions from the authorisation requirement and on the proposed […]
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it is seeking comments and information on the use of the term “natural” in food labeling. The move is in response to three citizen petitions, from industry stakeholders, requesting that the agency define “natural” for food labeling and one citizen petition, from Consumers Union, […]
Last week, the U.S. Senate came closer to passing bipartisan legislation to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) than ever before – but still failed to bring S. 697 to the floor. The bill, co-authored by Senators Tom Udall (D-NM) and David Vitter (R-LA), is still not scheduled for a floor vote, which will […]
Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent warning letters to five providers of environmental certification seals and 32 businesses using those seals on their websites. The FTC is concerned that the seals may be deceptive according to Section 5 of the FTC Act, and may not comply with the agency’s environmental marketing guidelines, […]
Today, California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released the first part of draft guidance on conducting Alternatives Analysis (AA) under the state’s Safer Consumer Products (SCP) program. The Draft Stage 1 Alternatives Analysis Guide (AA Guide) covers the first of the two stages of the AA process, which entails an initial screening of alternatives […]
EPA has released the prepublication version [PDF] of its final Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) for the brominated flame retardants hexabromocyclododecane or 1,2,5,6,9,10-hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD). HBCD is persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic, and poses potential human health concerns, including reproductive and developmental effects. This Final Rule designates the use of HBCD in consumer textiles as a significant new […]
Under Europe’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation, notifications are required for components of complex products that meet the 0.1% threshold concentration for certain chemicals, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled. The court’s decision, issued last week, overturns guidance issued in 2011 by the European Commission and European Chemicals Agency […]
Yesterday, EPA released two final Alternatives Assessment reports, for flame retardants used in flexible polyurethane foam and printed circuit boards, as well as a technical correction to an alternatives assessment report on bisphenol A (BPA) in thermal paper. These reports were developed under the agency’s Design for Environment (DfE) program to characterize chemical hazards and […]
Last week, EPA released preliminary assessment documents for four structurally similar flame retardant chemical clusters. These documents represent the first step in the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan Chemical assessment process for these substances, which were all on the Work Plan list. The TSCA Work Plan is the agency’s program to evaluate potential […]
