Signaling a notable advance in “extended producer responsibility” (EPR) policies, on July 13, Maine became the first U.S. state to require companies to pay fees related to the type and quantity of packaging for products sold in the state, in…
Continue Reading Maine Law Heralds Wave of “Extended Producer Responsibility” Mandates for Product Packaging

A coalition of environmental, food safety, and consumer health advocacy groups petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday to ban per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from food contact uses, and to “take aggressive action to protect consumers from…
Continue Reading FDA Considers Petition to Ban PFAS Food Uses, As Companies Move Toward Phase-Out

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adding three per-/poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the list of substances reportable under the agency’s Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting program.  Consistent with a recently leaked document highlighting priorities of the Office of Pollution …
Continue Reading EPA Expands List of PFAS Subject to TRI Reporting

The new 2021-2023 strategic plan of the U.S. EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) floats a series of potential expanded reporting requirements under the agency’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) and Environmental Protection and…
Continue Reading EPA Considering Expanded TSCA CDR and TRI Reporting Requirements, Environmental Justice Analyses

In the latest of a string of potentially ground-altering developments under California’s Proposition 65, a federal judge has temporarily enjoined plaintiffs from initiating new cases alleging failure to warn for foods and beverages that expose consumers to acrylamide, a Prop…
Continue Reading Court Injunction Hints at Prop 65 Relief for Acrylamide in Foods

Facing a massive uproar from industry groups and companies, late yesterday EPA put a hold on enforcement of a newly effective prohibition on one “PBT” chemical and announced a new comment period to re-examine the rules issued on January 6,…
Continue Reading EPA Grants Temporary Reprieve to TSCA PBT Chemical Prohibition, Re-Opens Comment Period

Earlier this week, EPA issued another “stop sale” order to Amazon directing the company to take steps to prevent the continued sale “of potentially dangerous or ineffective unregistered pesticides and pesticide devices making illegal and misleading claims, including multiple products…
Continue Reading EPA Extends Coronavirus Enforcement Against On-Line Sales of Unregistered Disinfectants

One of the few areas of EPA policy continuity between the Biden and Trump eras is the aggressive enforcement attention being paid to products that claim to fight the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

While EPA has long prioritized enforcement of the…
Continue Reading Biden EPA Continues Aggressive Enforcement Against Disinfectant Products and UV Devices Claiming to Kill Coronavirus

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) yesterday released its explanation for withdrawing proposed “clarifications” to the Proposition 65 regulations governing internet sales.  Last January, OEHHA proposed what it considered to be modest clarifications to the safe harbor…
Continue Reading California OEHHA Explains Decision to Rescind Proposed “Clarifications” to Prop 65 Rules for Internet Sales; Finalizes Changes to Alcohol Sale Warnings

A popular option for satisfying Proposition 65 warning requirements, the so-called “short-form” warning, is likely to be significantly curtailed in light of a January 8th proposal from the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA).  Originally conceived as an…
Continue Reading California Proposes to Minimize Use of Prop 65 Short-Form Warning

While many of us are grateful to see 2020 come to a close, cannabidiol (CBD) product manufacturers will face a new challenge in 2021:  compliance with California’s Proposition 65.  As of January 3, the one-year grace period to come into…
Continue Reading CBD Product Alert: California Prop 65 Enforcement of New THC Listing to Commence January 3, 2021