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2016 has the potential to be a very busy reporting year. In addition to the usual annual reports, such as TRI and Tier II, this year also brings the hazardous waste biennial report and TSCA’s chemical data report, which only comes around every 4 years. Reporting deadlines will come up faster than you think. It […]
Violence in the workplace isn’t pleasant to think about, but recent events highlight how important it is for employers to plan for it. We have advice for building an effective “active threat” plan from security expert Jay Hart. Hart, director of Force Training Institute, leads a team of first responders, antiterrorism, cybersecurity, defensive tactics, and […]
It appears that the U.S. Senate will approve the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (S. 697) before the end of 2015. The bill, which has the general support of the chemical industry and some major environmental groups, would amend many provisions of the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Under […]
While the U.S. Congress does its annual dance about reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) took a look at some chemical programs alive and well in other countries. Was this an attempt to nudge Congress into action? Might a reformed TSCA look like any of these programs? Let’s take […]
Did you miss BLR’s webinar on TSCA’s CDR reporting? No need to fret, BLR has you covered with this exclusive wrap-up.
Recap: What Is Section 8(e)? TSCA Section 8(e) is a single short paragraph that has been the source of widespread confusion since TSCA became law in 1976. Section 8(e) simply states that U.S. chemical manufacturers (including importers), processors, and distributors must notify the EPA within 30 days of obtaining information that reasonably supports the conclusion […]
Two upcoming rulemakings for which the EPA is looking for small business involvement and plans to conduct Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) panels follow: NSPS for oil and natural gas. The development of a rule that proposes to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), including methane, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) under its New Source […]
EAB Throws Out Huge TSCA Penalty Earlier this year, EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) reversed a $2.5 million penalty against Elementis Chromium, Inc. for the company’s failure to report under TSCA Section 8(e) information contained in an occupational epidemiology study on hexavalent chromium. The study showed that occupational exposure to hexavalent chromium is associated with […]
What are nanoscale materials? Nanomaterials are chemical substances that have structures with dimensions at the nanoscale—approximately 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). To get an idea of their size, a human hair is approximately 80,000 to 100,000 nm wide. The thinking is that nanomaterials may have properties different from the same chemical substances with structures at […]
2014 TSCA Work Plan Assessment Update—How It Works In the beginning, back in 2012, the EPA first used several sources to identify chemicals meeting prioritization factor criteria as potential candidates for review, a process that initially identified 1,235 chemicals. Next, the chemicals were screened to determine if any chemicals should be excluded due to other […]