Our aim is to provide timely and insightful analysis on the latest news and trends in the broadly defined area of chemical regulation, with a particular emphasis on regulations that effect consumer and industrial products and materials. While this blog is provided by the Environmental, Health, and Safety practice of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP in Washington, D.C., our focus will not simply be on federal U.S. Continue Reading >
Reversing course from an Obama-era EPA agreement to initiate a rulemaking to impose spill prevention, countermeasure and control (SPCC) requirements for hazardous substances, EPA announced on June 19th that it believes that existing regulations are adequate to meet its obligations under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and no new regulatory program is needed:
Based on the reported frequency and impacts of identified CWA [hazardous substance] HS discharges, and the Agency’s evaluation of the existing framework of EPA regulatory requirements relevant to preventing CWA HS discharges, EPA has determined that the existing framework of regulatory requirements serves to prevent CWA HS discharges. Continue Reading >
Responding quickly to a landmark court ruling requiring coffee sold in the state to bear a Proposition 65 warning label, California has initiated a proposed rulemaking to clarify that exposure to acrylamide and other chemicals “created by and inherent in the roasting of coffee beans and brewing of coffee” do not pose a significant risk of cancer. Continue Reading >
EPA released on June 1 the “problem formulation” documents for the first 10 chemicals for which risk evaluations are being conducted under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). (See: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-takes-three-important-steps-ensure-chemical-safety-under-lautenberg-act-proposes.) The documents describe the chemical use and exposure scenarios that the agency expects to examine, as well as the hazards, exposures, conditions of use, and exposed populations (e.g., workers, consumers, bystanders) that will be considered as EPA conducts the risk evaluations. Continue Reading >
Now that EPA prudently has extended the comment period on its proposal for “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science”, with comments due August 16th and a public hearing scheduled for July 1th, perhaps the additional time will allow for more reasoned evaluation of the eminently worthwhile goal of increasing the transparency of the science upon which the agency relies. Continue Reading >
This post was written by Joseph Green and Gonzalo Mon and originally posted on Kelley Drye’s Ad Law Access Blog.
The nation’s preeminent forum for mediating advertising claim disputes, the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Better Business Bureau, recently analyzed whether Petmate had adequate substantiation to support claims that certain cat litter pans had “built-in antimicrobial protection” and that they could “inhibit bacteria growth.” Continue Reading >
As part of the continuing implementation of the 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA is moving rapidly to complete designation of chemicals in commerce that are considered “active.” This “Reset” effort is a first step in helping the agency pare down the thousands of chemicals listed on the TSCA Inventory and identify a subset for possible evaluation under the new chemical prioritization and risk evaluation requirements. Continue Reading >
For our first substantive KelleyGreenLaw blog post, the recent court decision requiring Proposition 65 warning labels to be served with cups of coffee was an obvious choice. The case raises fundamental questions of the nature of “risk” and how it is assessed, as well as how and whether society should require affirmative warnings for exposure to chemicals that, while they may cause cancer or other harm at high doses, quite clearly do not pose any sort of meaningful risk based on everyday experience and common sense. Continue Reading >
