USA Regulatory News

In August 2022 the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated that it intends to expand its program encouraging federal agencies to acquire materials free of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substanc...

In August 2022 the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated that it intends to expand its program encouraging federal agencies to acquire materials free of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) to include a number of product groups. 

The initiative will support the agencies' efforts to purchase PFAS-free commodities, a goal established in the Biden-Harris executive order for 2021 and confirmed in implementation guidelines published in August. With an annual procurement budget surpassing $650 billion, the government has an enormous purchasing power that will encourage a wider market transition to safer substitutes for the additional product categories. 

The EPA's Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing is intended to assist federal agencies in meeting the mandate of the executive order to acquire PFAS-free products to the maximum degree practical. 

The EPA is interested in extending" the regulations to the following industries:  

• infrastructure 

• landscaping 

• building and construction 

• laboratories, and healthcare  

• food and cafeteria services  

• clothing and uniforms 

• professional services. 

For the product classes mentioned previously, the suggestions will provide standard and ecolabel bodies that adhere to the organization's Framework for the Assessment of Environmental Performance Standards and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing. 

The update is directed at product categories that are known to contain PFASs, according to the regulator. Standard and ecolabel organizations would need to demonstrate how their criteria are addressing the problem where persistent compounds present the most significant environmental and/or human health impacts in a product's lifecycle. 
  
Additionally, the EPA will assess additional standards and eco-labels for previously established procurement categories, including: office and furniture (Including copy paper), electronics (including phones, computers, imaging devices, and televisions), cleaning goods, (Including cleaners, tissues, and trash bags), and machine shop operations (particularly parts wash solution). 

The organization continued, saying that its Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) program is actively working to assess contracts to ensure that they comply with the procurement standards. 

The US, Canada, and EU are about to start a pilot project that will test a system for exchanging data on substances and provide guidance on the potential development of a global database of informatio...

The US, Canada, and EU are about to start a pilot project that will test a system for exchanging data on substances and provide guidance on the potential development of a global database of information on chemicals led by the OECD.

Bob Diderich, head of the OECD's environmental health and safety division, said ‘’a pilot project has been agreed upon between North American countries and the EU that will test how the database and exchange of information could work internationally while speaking at Chemical Watch's Regulatory Summit Europe, held on September 26-27.’’

The International Uniform Chemical Information Database (IUCLID) of the EU will serve as its ‘core’. The OECD and ECHA together created IUCLID, an IT system that enables organizations to record, save, manage, and exchange data on the inherent and dangerous features of chemicals.

According to Mr. Diderich, IUCLID employs the OECD's harmonized templates (OHTs), which are standard data formats for reporting data used for chemical risk assessment. These have also been incorporated into the chemical information systems of other nations.

"Because IUCLID uses OECD standards for data exchange, more and more countries are interested in using IUCLID for their own regulatory processes," he said.

‘’It would therefore make sense for it to be the core of a global information system’, he added.

Mr. Diderich said, ‘the pilot project will help the OECD determine on what form its own vision for a database could take and will attempt to provide answers to questions like whether it will be a distributed system of national databases that communicate with one another or a centralized system that everyone contributes to.’

Mr. Diderich did not confirm when the project would begin.

The idea was first floated in 2018, and has support from the industry. 

On 23 August 2022, the California State Assembly passed legislation ‘AB 2771’. The bill would ban the sale in California of any cosmetics and personal care products that contain any type of PFAS (...

On 23 August 2022, the California State Assembly passed legislation ‘AB 2771’. The bill would ban the sale in California of any cosmetics and personal care products that contain any type of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) by 2025. The bill, AB 2771, is backed by a coalition of consumer interest groups, public health groups, and environmental non-profit organizations. It prohibits the entire class of PFAS chemicals from being added to cosmetics and personal care products. 

PFAS are synthetic chemical compounds that are strongly resistant to degradation and, as a result, tend to accumulate in the environment. Characterized by the presence of strong carbon-fluorine bonds, these include perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), Gen X, and more. PFAS can present a diverse range of health risks, and their extensive use has resulted in frequent exposure in humans. Very low doses of PFAS in drinking water have been linked to increased risk of cancer, harm to the reproductive and immune system, and liver and thyroid disease. PFAS chemicals have been used in cosmetics products like dental floss, lotions, cleansers, shaving cream, lipstick, eyeliner and mascara to improve durability and texture and to condition or smooth skin or make it appear shiny. Cosmetics with the highest levels of PFAS are often marketed as waterproof, wear-resistant or long-lasting.

What Would AB 2247 Require?

AB 2247 requires companies that manufacture or import products (or product components) to be sold or distributed in California with "intentionally added PFAS" to publicly register the product on or before 1 July 2026. Thereafter, a manufacturer or importer must register products sold during the prior calendar year by 1 July of each year.

As states continue to consider and pass legislation regulating PFAS in cosmetics and personal care products, manufacturers and importers of these products containing PFAS will need to evaluate the scope of each state’s laws and regulations to avoid violations. Manufacturers and importers should also consider how they will comply with the regulation as the sales of these products would be banned in California by 2025.

On the 11th of July 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US notifies and seeks comment on a draft revision for trichloroethylene (TCE) risk evaluation issued under TSCA. The old d...

On the 11^th of July 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US notifies and seeks comment on a draft revision for trichloroethylene (TCE) risk evaluation issued under TSCA.

The old draft was revised to reflect the policy changes, to enhance the environment’s protection from unreasonable risks caused by chemicals. According to EPA, TCE as a whole chemical substance can cause unreasonable risks and injury to health.

This decision does not cover the assumption that all workers always wear personal protective equipment (PPE). This is because there is possibly a subpopulation of workers who might be highly exposed to TCE because they are not covered by OSHA standards or because many of OSHA’s chemical-specific permissible exposure limits are now outdated and inadequate for protecting workers’ health. OSHA standards are the rules that explain the methods employers are obligated to use to ensure their employees are protected from hazards.

When implemented, this decision will supersede the condition of use-specific no unreasonable risk determinations in the November 2020 TCE risk evaluation and will make a revised determination of unreasonable risk for TCE as a whole chemical substance.

The proposed dates of adoption and entry into force are yet to be determined. Comments for the draft revision will close on August 8, 2022.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for chemical substances that are subject to premanufacture notices (PMNs). ...

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for chemical substances that are subject to premanufacture notices (PMNs).

This new rule means that concerned persons have to notify EPA at least 90 days before manufacturing or import takes place. It also applies to processing any chemical substance under TSCA for an activity that is tagged as significant new use by the new rule. Therefore, concerned persons cannot comment manufacturing or processing of chemicals for the significant new use until they have submitted a Significant New Use Notice (SNUN) and EPA has made the notice determination, which comes after reviewing the notice.

The new rule will come into force on August 26, 2022, after its promulgation on July 11, 2022.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), on July 4, 2022, notified its draft revision to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This is for risk determination for Perchloroethylene (PCE) risk e...

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), on July 4, 2022, notified its draft revision to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This is for risk determination for Perchloroethylene (PCE) risk evaluation to reflect the announced policy changes by ensuring the public is protected from unreasonable chemical risks.

According to the draft, the US EPA after evaluation of use finds PCE as a toxic chemical substance that presents unreasonable risks to health. Although this evaluation does not consider the assumption of workers appropriately wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).

When the decision becomes final, it will override the condition of use-specific no unreasonable risk determinations in the December 2020 PCE risk evaluation and make a revised determination of unreasonable risk for PCE as a whole chemical substance.

The final date for comments on the draft revision is August 1, 2022.

A ground-breaking prohibition on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)-containing clothing has been approved by the New York legislators, which will enter into force next year upon being signed i...

A ground-breaking prohibition on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)-containing clothing has been approved by the New York legislators, which will enter into force next year upon being signed into law by the governor.

It is expected to facilitate a far-reaching market shift against PFAS in most garments and to expand on the momentum to restrict the persistent substance class across consumer goods in New York and other US states by enforcing the bill (S 6291A/A 7063A).

There is at the same time another similar measure (AB 1817) that covers textiles more broadly clearing California’s state Assembly, while some advocates in New York are working their way to promote several more proposals so as to eliminate PFAS applications in the legislature’s final days.

The already approved PFAS-containing apparel ban would halt the sale of the following articles with deliberately added per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances by December 31, 2023: shirts and tops, pants, skirts and dresses, vests, normal attire, leisurewear, underwear, scarves, onesies, bibs, and diapers.

The professional uniforms and heavy-duty outerwears are excluded from the ban, while PFAS-containing carpets and rugs have already been banned in early May as part of a larger extended producer responsibility measure (S 5027C/A 9279A), which, upon signed into law, shall take effect on December 31, 2024.

One critical factor for the approval here is that PFAS, though providing textiles with extraordinary durability and maintenance of apparel, are in general deemed non-essential in textiles, in which case famous retailers such as Gap Inc., Levi Strauss, and Patagonia, etc., have long pledged to move away from applying such compounds in their products. Nonetheless, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) urges to launch a veto against this decision, intending to demonstrate the negative consequences such a ban would have on consumers.

Noteworthily, the involved lawmakers plan to release a new measure targeting various goods, addressing textiles, fabric treatments, cookware, ski waxes, cleaning items, and architectural paints in reminiscence of multiproduct legislation awaiting executive action in Colorado. Further laws eliminating additional categories of PFAS-containing products before the legislature adjourns on June 2 are also pressed by several other environmental NGOs and legislative sponsors in New York. In the meantime, another bill (S 3331A/A 143) prohibiting PFAS and other concerning substances in cosmetics is also in the process of vigorous discussion.