All Things Chemical will reach our 3rd anniversary on October 23rd and we want to share this celebration with you. As we look back on the last three years I wanted to bring back an older episode from the summer of 2020, “Implementing Lautenberg — A Conversation with former OPPT Director Jeffery T. Morris, Ph.D.” During this episode I spoke with Jeff Morris about how the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics implemented Lautenberg back in 2016, and how TSCA can be implemented in the future to address social inequities and achieve its goals of environmental justice. I hope you enjoy it and take this opportunity to listen to some more episodes from our archives. ====== This week I sat down with Dr. Jeff Morris, immediate past Director of EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), the EPA office that regulates the industrial chemical sector.  Jeff directed EPA’s implementation of the 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and headed the office most immediately impacted by the significant changes brought about by the Lautenberg amendments. In our discussion, we talk about how Jeff and his OPPT colleagues managed the daunting task of implementing a new law, and how the Agency has fared since the law’s enactment four years ago.  We discuss Jeff’s interest in environmental justice, and how TSCA might be used to address the impact of environmental harms and their disproportionate adverse impact on people of color and the poor. We also discuss Jeff’s important role in EPA’s Office of Research and Development and its research program on nanomaterials and nanotechnology, and how his background prepared Jeff well for addressing TSCA’s application to emerging chemical technologies. We conclude by learning more about what Jeff is up to now in his new role as a principal in Jeff Morris Solutions, LLC.  I really enjoyed my conversation with Jeff.  He and I have known each other for many years, and I have long admired Jeff’s integrity, his commitment to public service, and his epic understanding of chemical policy, science, and regulation. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2021 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

All Things Chemical

Re-release: Implementing Lautenberg — A Conversation with former OPPT Director Jeffery T. Morris, Ph.D.

This week I sat down with my new colleague, Dennis R. Deziel, B&C’s and our consulting affiliate’s, The Acta Group, Senior Government Affairs Advisor, to discuss Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform. Dennis served as Director of Federal Government Affairs for the Dow Chemical Company when the TSCA amendments were considered and eventually enacted by Congress in 2016. After leaving Dow, Dennis served as EPA Region 1 Administrator (New England). I thought it would be interesting to speak with Dennis and seek his views on TSCA reform, as it was happening when he was a senior executive for one of the world’s largest chemical companies, and then as a Senate-confirmed political appointee, after TSCA reform was enacted and he was part of the team implementing the new law. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2021 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

TSCA Reform Reform? — A Conversation with Dennis Deziel

This week I sat down with Dr. Richard E. Engler, B&C’s and The Acta Group’s (our consulting affiliate) Director of Chemistry, to discuss the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) continuing struggle to regulate certain persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals, especially those found in finished products, what EPA refers to as “articles.” The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has always applied to the products, or articles, that contain chemical substances of interest to EPA under TSCA. While EPA previously used that authority somewhat sparingly, the 2016 Amendments to TSCA have jump-started a new wave of regulations that expressly apply to articles. EPA is required under TSCA to regulate certain PBTs, and EPA issued a final rule earlier this year that inspired chaos in the business community, especially in the electronics sector and its complicated supply chain. Rich and I discuss these PBT rules and help explain what may well be the new normal with regard to the regulation of finished products under TSCA. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2021 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

EPA and PBTs: A New Normal? — A Conversation with Richard E. Engler, Ph.D.

This week, I sat down with Daniel Rosenberg, Director, Federal Toxics Policy, Healthy People & Thriving Communities Program, at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Daniel’s distinguished legal career has placed him at the forefront of the evolving law and policy of domestic chemical regulation. Daniel and I discuss new Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) implementation of the 2016 amendments to TSCA under Lautenberg, several recent regulatory initiatives involving persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and much more. An engaging and formidable advocate, Daniel’s views are always forcefully spoken and clearly articulated. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2021 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

A Conversation with the NRDC’s Daniel Rosenberg

This week I sat down with Karin F. Baron, Senior Regulatory Consultant at B&C and our consulting affiliate, The Acta Group. Karin works extensively with the European Union’s (EU) Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals, better known as REACH, which is the EU counterpart to the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). We discuss REACH Article 41 “compliance checks,” an innocuous-sounding component of REACH that has the potential to cause considerable business anxiety, delay, and expense if a company’s REACH dossier is found to be deficient as a result of a compliance check. Karin walks us through what these checks are for, what could happen if you are caught up in one, and how best to respond if your dossier becomes ensnared in a compliance check. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2021 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

Compliance Checks and REACH — A Conversation with Karin Baron

This week I sat down with Carla N. Hutton, Regulatory Analyst at B&C. Carla is also co-editor of the Nano Blog that B&C has prepared for years. Carla is uniquely well suited to discuss a report the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently issued on developing occupational exposure limits or “bands” for engineered nanomaterials. There are thousands of chemicals in use in the workplace, but far fewer government-issued, authoritative, peer-reviewed occupational exposure limits for workplace chemicals. The recent NIOSH report discusses an approach to evaluate scientific information to derive occupational exposure limits or bands for engineered nanomaterials. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2021 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

Occupational Exposure Limits for Nanomaterials — A Conversation with Carla Hutton

This week I sat down with Karin F. Baron, Senior Regulatory Consultant at B&C and our consulting affiliate, The Acta Group. We tackle the daunting topic of combustible dust, a common workplace hazard that is more pervasive perhaps than people think. Combustible dust poses an explosion hazard in a wide variety of industries, including food, plastic, wood, and textiles, among many others. Karin helps us understand what combustible dust includes and then walks us through the somewhat complicated governance frameworks that have emerged among the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), private standard-setting organizations, and the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). The space is crowded and remarkably unclear, especially given the severity of the incidents that have occurred over the years. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2021 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

An explosive conversation about GHS and combustible dust — with Karin Baron

This week I sat down with Dr. Richard E. Engler, B&C’s and The Acta Group’s (our consulting affiliate) Director of Chemistry, to discuss a very new component on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) PFAS Action Plan. The plan represents EPA’s “all of agency” approach to address the risks posed by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that can accumulate in humans and remain in the body for long periods. PFAS have been widely used in many consumer articles for years, and the action plan represents the totality of EPA’s actions to identify areas of risk and steps to address risks to human health and the environment. EPA recently proposed a PFAS reporting rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that would compel the submission of certain information on some 1,000 listed PFAS chemicals. The proposal is controversial because of how it defines this class of chemicals, the standard of knowledge that triggers reporting, and the types of entities subject to the reporting requirements. Rich Engler helps us understand what these issues are and why you should care. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2021 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. All Rights Reserved

New PFAS: Is anything NOT reportable? — A Conversation with Richard E. Engler, Ph.D.

This week, I sat down with Bruce Jarnot, Ph.D., DABT®, Senior Manager, Product Compliance, at Assent Compliance. Bruce is a board-certified industrial toxicologist with much experience assisting businesses with chemical product compliance. I have known Bruce for years, but over the past several months, Bruce and I have spoken often about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) implementation of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and certain new rules that apply to manufacturers of finished goods, called “articles” under TSCA. Several rules issued in final this year or proposed apply to importers of finished goods and other downstream entities. A proposed reporting rule issued in June would apply to small businesses, a cohort historically exempt from TSCA reporting requirements. We discuss these rules and their significant commercial impacts, and we speculate on whether these broad reporting requirements are the new normal under new TSCA. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2021 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

Changes to TSCA for Small Businesses? — A Conversation with Bruce Jarnot, Ph.D.

This week, I sat down with Meglena Mihova, Managing Partner, EPPA, the Brussels-based premier consultancy on matters involving key business sectors, including chemicals and chemical regulation. Meglena is expert on all matters involving the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the complex relationships between and among ECHA, European Union (EU) member states, the European Commission, and other stakeholders. Meglena chairs the Environment Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU, which is the leading U.S. business representation body in the EU. We cover a lot of territory, including amendments to the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulations, the EU Green Deal, the chemicals strategy for sustainability under the EU Green Deal, and the regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and microplastics. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2021 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

Update on European Union Chemical Management Issues — A Conversation with EPPA’s Meglena Mihova

This week, I sat down with Heather J. Blankinship, Senior Manager with B&C Consortia Management, a Bergeson & Campbell affiliate, and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., B&C’s Director of Chemistry, to discuss chemical testing under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  Since Congress amended TSCA in 2016, EPA has been slowly ratcheting up required chemical testing under TSCA Section 4.  Congress gave EPA expanded testing authority under the 2016 Amendments, and EPA is exercising its new authority to compel chemical data production.  These test orders authorize EPA to demand the production of new test data by the manufacturers and sometimes processors of the chemical substances at issue.  Transactionally, this means competitors in the marketplace band together to generate the data EPA seeks.  We discuss the reality of quickly forming these consortia and the business and scientific challenges consortia managers face in complying with these federally enforceable test orders.  It is not as easy as you may think! ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2021 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

TSCA Section 4 and Consortia Formation — A Conversation with Heather Blankinship and Richard Engler, Ph.D.

This week, I sat down with Brenna Finn, Assistant Attorney General, Colorado Department of Law.  I am proud to report that Brenna was a law intern here at the firm years ago, as Brenna began her legal career, and pleased to report that her experience with the firm focused her career, in part, on chemical regulation.  Brenna’s substantive skills in Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) regulation have served her well in private practice and prepared her for her current position with the State of Colorado Attorney General’s office, where Brenna heads up the Agricultural Unit in the Business & Licensing Section of the Colorado Department of Law.  Brenna enforces the Department’s pesticide registration and application laws, among other responsibilities.  Brenna is also an adjunct law professor at the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law, where she teaches Food and Pesticide Regulation.  After briefly summarizing Brenna’s successful career, we discuss Colorado’s regulation of pesticides used on cannabis and the key enforcement issues on which Brenna’s unit focuses.  We also review other enforcement priorities in the state, as Colorado grows many crops in addition to cannabis. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2021 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

Pesticide and Cannabis Regulation in Colorado — A Conversation with Brenna Finn

This week, I sat down with Scott J. Burya, Ph.D., a regulatory chemist with B&C and our affiliated consulting firm, The Acta Group.  Scott works extensively in the food contact area and other areas involving Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) regulatory matters.  We discuss how U.S. regulatory professionals working in the all-important food contact space can leverage a European Union (EU) measure applicable to plastic food contact materials and articles.  The Plastics Implementing Measure, or PIM, includes, among other features, a list of more than 1,000 chemical substances and specific migration levels.  Scott describes the EU measure and its strengths and perceived deficits, and discusses how U.S. regulatory professionals in this space can leverage the PIM and the specific migration limits in other regulatory contexts here in the United States and elsewhere. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2021 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

Let’s Talk About Europe’s Plastics Implementing Measure — A Conversation with Scott Burya, Ph.D.

This week, I sat down with Daniella Taveau, a Regulatory and Global Trade Strategist and the founder of Bold Text Strategies.  As a former International Trade Negotiator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Daniella represented the United States in all U.S. Free Trade Agreements and before the World Trade Organization, the United Nations (U.N.) Food and Agriculture Organization, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.  Daniella also served as an International Policy Analyst with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Given Daniella’s rich background on global trade issues, we discussed the incoming Biden Administration’s approach to trade, what the Biden Trade Plan might include, what chemical and pesticide companies might expect in the months ahead, and what some of the key differences are between the new Administration’s approach to trade and the former Administration’s trade strategy. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2021 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

What will the Biden Trade Plan look like? — A Conversation with Daniella Taveau

This week I sat down with Karin Baron, Senior Regulatory Consultant to B&C and our affiliated consultancy, The Acta Group, to discuss the European Union’s (EU) Commission Regulation issued last June relating to the completion of safety data sheets (SDS).  As listeners know, SDSs are critically important commercial documents that describe the hazards identified with a particular chemical product or mixture as it makes  its way in commerce.  While this is an EU rule, Karin explains why the new regulation has important consequences for U.S. businesses. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2021 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

Changes to Safety Data Sheets in the EU and what it might mean for US Businesses — A Conversation with Karin Baron

All Things Chemical is a podcast produced by Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), a Washington D.C. law firm focusing on chemical law, business, and litigation matters. All Things Chemical is hosted by Lynn L. Bergeson, managing partner of B&C. In each episode, we bring you intelligent, insightful, and engaging conversation about everything related to industrial, pesticidal, and specialty chemicals, as well as the law and business issues surrounding chemicals. Our incredibly talented team of lawyers, scientists, and consultants keep you abreast of the changing world of both domestic and international chemical regulation and provide analysis of the many intriguing and complicated issues surrounding this space.

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All Things Chemical

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