USA Regulatory News

On June 8, 2022, US EPA notified WTO about the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Miscellaneous Coating Manufacturing (MCM NESHAP). The agency currently proposes certain a...

On June 8, 2022, US EPA notified WTO about the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Miscellaneous Coating Manufacturing (MCM NESHAP).

The agency currently proposes certain amendments to MCM NESHAP facilities, in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The proposal focuses on inorganic hazardous air pollutant (HAP) standards for process vessels. This will aid the completion of the required technology review, which was originally promulgated on August 14, 2020, and enhance the protection of the environment.

Comment on this proposal is open till August 8, 2022.

About CAA: CAA is a federal law in the U.S. targeted at protecting human health and the environment from polluting emissions. The law requires U.S. EPA to set minimum national standards for the quality of air as well as ensure that the states comply with the set standards.  

The proposed action is the removal of 401 KAR 50:055 section 1(1) and section 1(4) from the Kentucky SIP, following the submission made by the Commonwealth in 2016 requesting the same. You can access the official proposal document here.

The overhaul to “short form” warnings under Prop 65 is temporarily paused in California, the US. The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has decided to keep on hold this contr...

The overhaul to “short form” warnings under Prop 65 is temporarily paused in California, the US. The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has decided to keep on hold this controversial proposal and instead issue an alternative regulatory proposal in the near future.

The proposal was originally intended to prompt provisions of clear and reasonable warnings in the use of short-form labels. Based on the state’s “Right-to-know Scheme”, the companies shall, for example, name a minimum of 1 listed chemical they would like to warn about in the products.

OEHHA has revised twice the proposal after its floating state in January 2021, so as to address stakeholders’ concerns. However,  businesses remain opposed to this action. Under the allotted time frame, the agency was however not able to complete the rule-making process as announced in a May 20 Notice. The rule-making is hence allowed to lapse and OEHHA intends to restart the process, involving issuing a new regulatory proposal informed by comments on the previous one.

US EPA on the 29th of April 2022, submitted a notification to World Trade Organization, to amend the regulatory decision on Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).  According to US EPA, VOCs are compounds...

US EPA on the 29^th of April 2022, submitted a notification to World Trade Organization, to amend the regulatory decision on Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).  According to US EPA, VOCs are compounds that have a high vapor pressure and low water solubility. Many VOCs are human-made chemicals that are used and produced in the manufacture of paints, pharmaceuticals, and refrigerants.

Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the agency proposes to add (2E)-1,1,1,4,4,4hexafluorobut-2-ene (also known as trans-1,1,1,4,4,4-hexafluorobut-2-ene, and HFO1336mzz(E); CAS number 66711-86-2) to the list of compounds excluded from the regulatory definition. The reason is that this compound makes an insignificant contribution to tropospheric ozone (O3) formation, that is, the chemical reaction caused between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC).

The main aim of this proposal is to protect both human health and the environment. The subjects concerned include industries manufacturing/using HFO-1336mzz(E) for use in foam blowing and refrigeration, industrial gas, semiconductor machinery, chemical products, vehicle parts, and building manufacturing among others.

Comments on this close on June 27, 2022. And the proposed date of adoption and entry into force is yet to be determined.

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, mostly referred to as PFAS, are part of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) present in diverse consumer and industrial products. PFAS has a myriad of application...

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, mostly referred to as PFAS, are part of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) present in diverse consumer and industrial products. PFAS has a myriad of applications due to its increased resistance and durable characteristics. In fact, durability is the reason such chemicals are also referred to as "forever chemicals".

PFAS are substances with fluorinated atoms, which prevent the substances from being broken down and decomposing in the environment. On the contrary, PFAS bioaccumulates in organisms, and its toxicity increases over time. Consequently, organisms may present several dysfunctions during their lifetime, and ultimately lead to death. Due to the severity and difficulties of a single country controlling POPs pollution alone, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) proposed an international treaty to eliminate or restrict the production and use of POPs – the Stockholm Convention.

Recently, the United States (US) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the PFAS Strategic Roadmap: EPA's Commitments to Action 2021-2024, aiming to improve research, restriction, and remediation of polluted sites. However, the agency’s definition of PFAS substances in the National PFAS Testing Strategy differed drastically from the expected common description.

When US EPA refers to PFAS substances as those "chemicals with at least two adjacent carbon atoms, where one carbon is fully fluorinated and the other is at least partially fluorinated", it includes around 7 thousand substances. On the other hand, other comprehensive PFAS definitions, such as those used by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), lead to expressive higher numbers.

The difference is that OECD opted to consider PFAS as any substance containing a fully or partly fluorinated carbon chain. This opposing view on PFAS substances may be related to recent reports showing regions along the US highly contaminated with the substance. The most recent example occurred in North Carolina, where the drinking water supplies were contaminated with dozens of fluorochemicals.

Since POPs (and all chemicals under the term) are chemicals with high persistence, durability, mobility, and toxicity, it is fundamental that authorities reach a consensus to safeguard and protect the environment and human health, nationally and internationally.

On March 9, 2022, US EPA published the final rule for regulating Phenol, Isopropylated Phosphate (3:1). The regulation for this substance is promulgated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).T...

On March 9, 2022, US EPA published the final rule for regulating Phenol, Isopropylated Phosphate (3:1). The regulation for this substance is promulgated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

The final rule concerns the extension of the substance’s compliance date for commercial processing and distribution. The new compliance date for the substance’s prohibition is October 31, 2024.

The final rule is effective from March 8, 2022, and will be promulgated by March 22, 2022. The full document is available on our website here. 

On 9 March 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces the decision to extend the compliance date for prohibiting the processing and distribution of Phenol, Isopropylated Phosphate (3:...

On 9 March 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces the decision to extend the compliance date for prohibiting the processing and distribution of Phenol, Isopropylated Phosphate (3:1) [PIP (3:1)] in the US.

This applies to PIP (3:1)-containing articles and the PIP (3:1) used in making those articles. The new extension date for compliance is October 31, 2024. This means that affected businesses, manufacturers, and importers have from now till October 2024 to stop using PIP (3.1) and also to comply with the recordkeeping requirements for manufacturers, processors, and distributors.

This is the final rule which will be formally effective from March 22, 2022. The rule affects you if you are a manufacturer, importer, processor, distributor, or user of PIP (3:1) or PIP (3:1)-containing articles. 

To ensure that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the best tools for protecting human health and the environment under Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the agency released a draft TSCA...

To ensure that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the best tools for protecting human health and the environment under Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the agency released a draft TSCA systematic review protocol on the 20th of December 2021.

This protocol is also aimed at strengthening EPA’s approach to review and select the scientific studies used for informing TSCA chemical risk evaluations. This is also to support the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment of making evidence-based decisions and developing policies guided by the best available scientific data.

The protocol is produced to meet the criteria of ‘comprehensive, workable, objective, and transparent’ which the previous systematic review process failed to meet. The February 2021 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) TSCA Committee said it was an incomplete and difficult to follow documentation. The revision of the approach and update of TSCA systematic review process by EPA led to the new draft.

The new draft includes key recommendations and approaches for the current TSCA risk evaluation of 20 high priority chemicals and will undergo a peer review at Scientific Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) meeting on April 19 to 22, 2022. The draft also enables the use of recent and future IRIS systematic reviews. Furthermore, it includes new methods aimed at reducing bias and improving evaluation consistency for all chemicals.

Further details specific to how the protocol has been used for each of these chemical risk evaluations are available on EPA’s website. From now till February 18, 2022, the agency is accepting comments on the draft protocol for 60 days.

Last Update: 2022-01-04