August 29, 2016 -- "This is a big deal," said President Barack Obama as he signed into law the bill that updates -- for the first time in 40 years -- the nation's main chemical safety legislation. Called the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act to honor the late senator for whom this was a special cause, the law revises the Toxic Substances Control Act that gives the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency authority to regulate chemicals used commercially in the United States.

As Obama noted at the June 22 signing ceremony, TSCA was supposed to ensure that chemicals used in the U.S. were safe for human health and the environment. But, said the president, "Even with the best of intentions, the law didn't quite work the way it should have in practice."

In fact, TSCA allowed the approximately 62,000 chemicals already on the market when it was passed in 1976 to continue being used without safety testing. It also placed enormously high hurdles for the EPA to clear before demonstrating a chemical was hazardous enough to ban. Even asbestos has failed to meet those requirements. It was widely agreed, by industry and environmental advocates alike that TSCA was badly in need of revision.

Aug. 18 -- The Environmental Protection Agency's Web page that posts its new chemical risk conclusions provides the public some safety assurance, a chemical manufacturer said.

"EPA's posting of its premanufacture notice determinations provides more transparency for the public. This is a good step forward for transparency and providing more information about the safety of materials that are destined for products," Genet Garamendi, senior vice president for corporate communications, sustainability and government relations at Solazyme Inc., told Bloomberg BNA by e-mail.

The agency reviewed two chemicals Solazyme designed for use as lubricants, lubricant ingredients or to make other chemicals, finding that the two chemicals were "not likely to present an unreasonable risk."

Under the recently modernised law, the agency must identify ten substances from its existing list of workplan chemicals and formally initiate a risk evaluation of these, within 180 days of enactment -- that is, by 22 December.

The result of yesterday's UK referendum in favour of leaving the EU raises important questions about how UK-based companies' obligations under REACH will change, say law firms and consultancies.

Unless the UK decides unilaterally, and in breach of its obligation under the EU Treaty, to no longer be subject to existing EU Regulation, said Jean-Philippe Montfort of law firm Mayer Brown, REACH will continue to apply in the UK until it has left the EU. Once the UK government invokes these proceedings, the negotiations must be completed within two years.

But there may also be transition periods after this, said Mr. Montfort, applying to a range of EU legislation applicable in the UK, including REACH. And the post-Brexit status of the UK "may well be such that it will retain application of some EU legislation, such as REACH, as REACH is currently also applicable in the European Economic Area" [comprising all the EU member states plus Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway]. "So, in principle, Brexit should not affect the REACH 2018 deadline."

Helsinki, 17 August 2016 -- The amendment (the ninth adaptation to technical progress) introduces or updates the harmonised classifications for 47 substances in the list of harmonised classification (Annex VI to the CLP Regulation). Two entries have been deleted, the existing classifications for bisphenol A, among others, have been revised, and classifications for eight anticoagulant rodenticide active substances have been updated or introduced.

In total, new harmonised classifications have been assigned to 26 substances or groups of substances that have not been previously classified, such as lead in massive or powder form. These changes shall apply by 1 March 2018, but they can be applied before this date on a voluntary basis.

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See the ninth adaptation to technical progress here.

Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agreed to consider withdrawing its approvals of 30 food additives known as ortho-phthalates from use in food packaging and food handling equipment.  The chemicals are in a class of chemically- and pharmacologically-related substances used as plasticizers, binders, coating agents, defoamers, gasket closures, and slimicide agents to process and package food. The agency allows them to be used in cellophane, paper, paperboard, and plastics that come in contact with food. All of the chemicals were approved by the agency before 1985.  Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 321(s), chemicals that are reasonably expected to get into food from their intentional use in materials contacting food are considered "food additives."

FDA acted in response to a food additive petition submitted by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Center for Environmental Health, Center for Food Safety, Clean Water Action, Consumer Federation of America, Earthjustice, Environmental Defense Fund, Improving Kids' Environment, and Learning Disabilities Association of America -- groups all concerned by the adverse health effects of ortho-phthalates at the levels typically seen in food.

Academic studies have linked some of these chemicals to various reproductive, developmental and endocrine health problems. In fact, every ortho-phthalate that has been studied for these types of health effects has been found to pose a risk. From lower IQ in young children to malformation of the male genital tract, the evidence of health effects in humans continues to grow. But, with more than half of the 30 chemicals lacking any published safety data, the full extent of the threat remains unclear.

Several reports have found numerous ortho-phthalates in everyday food. While these chemicals are used in many consumer products other than food, the primary source of exposure appears to be food, presumably from their FDA-approved use in food packaging and handling equipment.

(KPIX 5) -- Just weeks after congress passed a law giving the Environmental Protection Agency more power to ban harmful chemicals, a new study demonstrates just how much chemical regulations can impact the health of our nation's youth.

From couch cushions, to baby products, to kids' pajamas, chemical flame retardants are widely used in consumer goods. As a result, the average American infant has the highest recorded levels of these chemicals in their body. However, a peer-reviewed biomonitoring study by the Environmental Working Group found that government regulations can increase those "potentially harmful exposures."

The [Chemicals Management Plan] (CMP) is a comprehensive Government of Canada initiative aimed at reducing the risks posed by substances to Canadians and their environment. The plan includes measures to assess and manage new and existing substances, integrate government activities involving different laws governing chemicals, provide government accountability and support industry's role in proactively identifying and safely managing the substances they produce and use.

The database can be searched by state, region, status (e.g., enacted, proposed, and failed), policy category (e.g., pollution prevention, single-chemical restriction), chemical, and product type (e.g., children's products, cleaning products). ...

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that can interfere with the body's endocrine system (hormones) and cause developmental, neurological and reproductive issues.

Patisaul's lab studies the ways in which endocrine disruptors can affect brain development, especially areas of the brain that are sexually dimorphic, or areas of the brain that control different functions for sexes.

These chemicals can be found in cosmetics, which are classified as anything applied to the human body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness or altering one's appearance. This is not the case everywhere. The European Union has cosmetics legislation that requires that all products marketed in the EU must first be registered in the Cosmetic Products Notification Portal (CPNP) before being placed on the market.