Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Today’s workplace uses thousands of chemicals, many of which are hazardous. The resources in this section will help guide you in the safe and legal identification, storage, transport, and use of these chemicals, and in making sure that your employees right to know how to be safe around such substances is provided, as required by law.
Manufacturers and importers of chemical substances listed on the EPA’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory are advised the EPA has published notice seeking comments for guidance on some of the processes applicable to TSCA Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) regulations. The comments sought apply specifically to “[p]etitions for full exemption of byproduct substances that are […]
On August 18, 2021, the EPA announced it issued a final rule to stop the use of chlorpyrifos pesticide on all food crops in response to an order from the 9th Circuit. The final rule revokes “all ‘tolerances’ for chlorpyrifos, which establish an amount of a pesticide that is allowed on food. In addition, the […]
Scientists working in the EPA’s New Chemicals Division recently filed a disclosure revealing several tactics managers use that prevent adequate safety assessments of new chemicals, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). “One tactic managers have used to complete assessments within 90 days is forbidding assessors from communicating with other specialists,” according to PEER. […]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently published preliminary 2020 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data about chemical releases, chemical waste management, and pollution prevention activities. The data covers activities that occurred at nearly 21,000 federal and industrial facilities across the U.S., and includes the first-ever reporting on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) added to the TRI […]
On June 29, 2021, the EPA published a final rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the TSCA Health and Safety Data reporting rule, requiring manufacturers (including importers) of 50 specified chemical substances to report certain lists and copies of unpublished health and safety studies to the EPA. “Section 8(d) of the Toxic […]
On July 12, 2021, the EPA announced per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are among a new group of contaminants being considered for monitoring under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The PFAS were part of the EPA’s “Draft Contaminant Candidate List 5 (CCL 5), which provides the latest list of drinking water contaminants that are known […]
On June 30, 2021, EPA announced policy changes for chemical risk evaluations conducted as required by the Toxic Substances Control Act. This provides a new path forward for the first 10 chemicals to go through risk evaluation: 1,4-Dioxane 1-Bromopropane Asbestos Carbon Tetrachloride Cyclic Aliphatic Bromide Cluster (HBCD) Methylene Chloride N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) Pigment Violet 29 (PV29) […]
By a narrow margin, on June 29, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled states cannot use sovereign immunity as a defense to prevent federally approved pipeline projects from being built on state-owned land.
Whistleblowers responsible for completing chemical risk assessments have come forward with allegations that their reports have been and continue to be “improperly altered to completely eliminate or minimize risk calculations,” according to a complaint filed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) on behalf of four scientists who work in EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety […]
On July 1, 2021, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced that attorneys at Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP have been appointed as special assistant attorneys general to conduct an independent investigation into “allegations regarding alleged improper non-enforcement of air quality standards as alleged by certain Air Pollution Control Division staff at the Colorado Department of […]