Acta Group articles

As part of its Fitness Check of European Union (EU) legislation regarding endocrine disruptors, the European Commission (EC) has begun two public consultations: a public consultation (designed from a citizen’s perspective), and a stakeholder consultation (designed for stakeholders and experts). The public consultation will close March 9, 2020, and targets the

The results of the United Kingdom’s December 12, 2019, elections give the Conservative Party under the leadership of Boris Johnson a clear mandate to withdraw from the European Union (EU), a process colloquially known as “Brexit,” by the January 31, 2020, deadline agreed with the EU. The mandate is clear, the details of withdrawal are not, and the forthcoming negotiation with the EU promises to be challenging. Brexit has attracted unparalleled levels of attention from the gl

The latest revisions to the Act on Registration, Evaluation, etc. of Chemicals [Act No. 15844, October 16, 2018] in South Korea (K-REACH) entered into force on January 1, 2019. Its first significant compliance deadline required manufacturers and importers to pre-register existing substances by June 30, 2019. The industry is now shifting its focus to registration requirements that provide the following phase-in timelines.

• Substances imported or manufactured > 1,000

The ‘right-to-know’ has been a foundational element of U.S. environmental law and policy for decades. As more information becomes known about the potential health and environmental impacts of chemical substances in industrial, commercial, and especially consumer products, the public’s interest in product ingredients has sharply increased. Recently this interest has taken a new direction, one targeting consumer cleaning products. Two state initiatives, originating in opposite

A petition filed under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was one of the first actions reviewed by a federal district court since TSCA was substantially rewritten in June 2016.The rulings described below pose interesting and potentially formidable challenges for TSCA stakeholders.

Background

TSCA Section 21 enables “any person” to submit a petition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to initiate a proceeding for the

In December 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule prohibiting entities from asserting claims of confidential business information (CBI) for certain documents related to the export, import, and transit of hazardous waste. Manufacturers that have historically relied on assertions of CBI should be aware of this change. The new rule is discussed below.

Background

In November 2016, EPA proposed revisions to the Resource Conservati

For readers not following Proposition 65 (Prop 65) changes, you need to read this column. Big changes are in store for regulated entities subject to Prop 65 based on a rule implemented in August 2016, but with a fast-approaching enforcement date of Aug. 30, 2018.

Prop 65 requires businesses to notify Californians about significant amounts of listed carcinogens and reproductive chemicals in the products they purchase, use in their homes or workplaces, or that are released into the envi

The new year promises to be a busy one in the chemical area. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hit all of its new Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) marks in timely promulgating rules or taking other steps required by the new TSCA. TSCA developments we expect to monitor in 2018 include:

Fee proposal. The EPA likely will propose a rule soon to implement the fees provisions of TSCA Section 26(b).

Prioritization. We don’t expect the EPA to wo

On December 15, 2017, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) posted a blog item entitled "WHO Guidelines to Protect Workers from Nanomaterials." See https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2017/12/15/who-nano/ As reported in our December 13, 2017, blog item (see

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to implement reporting requirements pertinent to the supply, use and trade of mercury in the United States. This column provides more information and a closer look into the EPA’s October 2017 proposed rule.

The 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) call for the EPA to establish periodic mercury reporting requirements for manufacturers of mercury or mercury-added products or those that use mercury in a