Introducing new PFAS into the market or using existing ones for new purposes likely just got much harder as the EPA has established a new framework requiring an intensive scientific review process that likely will result in restrictions or even bans. The “Framework for TSCA New Chemicals Review of PFAS Premanufacture Notices (PMNs) and Significant New Use Notices (SNUNs)” comes under the TSCA New Chemicals Program, which “regulates chemicals in a manner that promotes technological innovation while ensuring that chemicals are safe to …
Continue ReadingAuthor: Oliver E. Twaddell
EPA Proposes Ban on Common Solvent and Processing Aid Methylene Chloride
In a proposed rule published on May 3, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommended a ban on most uses of methylene chloride (also called dichloromethane), a common solvent and processing aid. It is used in a variety of consumer and commercial applications including adhesives and sealants, automotive products, and paint and coating removers. The chemical was manufactured in significant volumes — the total aggregate production volume ranged from 100 million to 500 million pounds between 2016 and 2019, according to Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) – …
Continue ReadingHighly Anticipated Proposed EtO Rules the EPA Just Announced: Were They Worth The Wait?
After years of delays – largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic – on April 11, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finally issued two proposals that would reduce ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions affecting fence-line communities neighboring EtO sterilization facilities and establish direct protections for facility employees likely to be regularly exposed to this sterilizing chemical. The proposals, which fall under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), are expected to dramatically reduce EtO emissions by a whopping 80% …
Continue ReadingEPA Brings Down The Hammer On PFAS: Proposed Drinking Water Regulations Push The Limit
Earlier this week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled, PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation Rulemaking.
In keeping to its commitments in the PFAS Strategic Roadmap, the EPA took a significant step by proposing to establish legally enforceable drinking-water levels for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) known to occur in drinking water: PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, GenX Chemicals, PFNA, and PFBS.
“Through this proposed rule, EPA is leveraging the most recent science and building on existing state efforts …
Continue ReadingEPA: $2 Billion in Funds to Address Emerging Contaminants, Build on PFAS Strategic Roadmap
The EPA announced Monday the availability of $2 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address emerging contaminants such as Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in drinking water across the country. This investment, allocated to states and territories, will be made available to communities as grants through EPA’s Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities (EC-SDC) Grant Program and will “promote access to safe and clean water in small, rural, and disadvantaged communities while supporting local economies.”
“These grants build on EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap and will …
Continue ReadingEPA Proposes Revisions to Particulate Matter NAAQS Under the Clean Air Act
In early January, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposal to revise and strengthen a key national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for fine particle pollution, also known as PM2.5.
The Clean Air Act requires EPA to set two types of NAAQS: health-based standards, called primary standards, and standards to protect public welfare, called secondary standards. Based on the scientific evidence and technical information, EPA has set two primary standards for PM2.5, which work together to protect public health: the …
Continue ReadingEthylene Oxide Alert: Deliberative Process Privilege Found To Not Justify Withholding EtO Data in Texas
Our blog recently reported on the first jury verdict concerning alleged ethylene oxide exposure and has previously reported a number of times here generally about ethylene oxide (EtO). Ethylene oxide is a gas commonly used to make other chemicals utilized in a variety of consumer and industrial goods, including fabric, detergents, medicines, and adhesives. It is used to sterilize medical devices and spices and to kill microorganisms in grains. EtO is a well-established sterilizing agent highly efficient at preventing bacteria from growing on, or within, products during …
Continue ReadingWHO Draft Drinking Water Guidance on PFOA and PFOS Raises Material Differences With U.S. EPA Guidance
The World Health Organization recently released for public comment its first document evaluating PFAS: “PFOS and PFOA in Drinking-water, Background document for development of WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality.” According to WHO, one of its primary goals is that “all people, whatever their stage of development and their social and economic conditions, have the right to have access to an adequate supply of safe drinking water.” One function that WHO exercises to achieve that goal is the proposal of regulations, and “to make recommendations with …
Continue ReadingEPA Asks the Ninth Circuit for Permission to Reconsider Its Human Health and Ecological Determinations on the Common Herbicide, Paraquat
Paraquat dichloride is a synthetic chemical compound that has been used as an active ingredient in herbicide products sold in the United States since the mid-1960s. One of the most commonly used herbicides in the U.S., it has been described as “a fast-acting, non-selective herbicide used in an array of agricultural and other settings” … “typically applied via knapsack sprayers, hand-held sprayers, crop dusters, trucks with pressurized tanks, and tractor-drawn pressurized tanks.” The EPA has designated paraquat as a “Restricted Use” product (RUP), which means …
Continue ReadingEPA Proposes to Designate PFOA and PFOS as Hazardous Substances under CERCLA
Friday of last week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published a proposed rule that would designate perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (“PFOS”), including their salts and structural isomers, as hazardous substances under section 102(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (commonly known as CERCLA). The designations, if finalized, could have direct and indirect impacts on a range of individuals and companies, as well as the federal government itself.
The five broad categories of entities potentially affected by this designation as …
Continue Reading