On March 14, 2024, EPA Administrator Michael Regan signed a final rule requiring certain facilities to develop facility response plans (FRP) for a worst-case discharge of Clean Water Act (CWA) hazardous substances or the threat of such a discharge. Worst-case discharges are defined as the largest foreseeable discharge in adverse weather conditions, [...]
On April 11, 2023, the EPA issued two proposals aimed at reducing ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions, including more stringent air emissions standards and additional protections for workers who are exposed to the gas used to sterilize medical devices and certain spices. If finalized, the EPA’s proposals are [...]
The EPA finalized its rule adding 12 chemicals to the list of chemicals subject to Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reporting, which provides important information about how these chemicals are being managed by facilities in a given community. “Available data show these chemicals have moderately high to high human health toxicity and/or are [...]
The EPA recently unveiled its “Strategy to Reduce Lead Exposures and Disparities in U.S. Communities” to advance its objectives to protect the public from lead, with a renewed focus upon high-risk communities. The Agency announced the strategy during National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week in Omaha, Nebraska, which was once home [...]
Hazardous waste management is a topic that encompasses a wide variety of wastes and procedures that helps to keep the harmful effects of waste on human health and the environment to a minimum. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the universal waste regulations streamline the hazardous waste management standards for certain [...]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently published preliminary 2020 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data about chemical releases, chemical waste management, and pollution prevention activities. The data covers activities that occurred at nearly 21,000 federal and industrial facilities across the U.S. and includes the first-ever reporting on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances [...]
The EPA issued final rules to reduce exposure to five persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) on December 22, 2020. “PBT chemicals are of particular concern not only because they are toxic but also because they remain in the environment for long periods [...]
Guidance on COVID-19-related consumer products stirs up procedural controversy. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has posted a guidance concerning COVID-19-related consumer products on its website that drew fire from one commissioner because it was developed and put up on the Internet absent formal approval by the full commission. Commissioner Dana Baiocco, [...]
Update: The EPA recently published a final rule extending the Toxic Substances Control Act’s (TSCA) Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) deadline to January 29, 2021. The previous deadline was November 30, 2020. The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976 provides regulatory authority to the EPA to regulate the distribution and use of chemicals in [...]
