On October 20, 2015, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an opinion and order holding that ECM BioFilms, Inc., a manufacturer of plastic additives, had made false or misleading claims about the biodegradability of...more
As legislation to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act nears passage in Congress, states continue to enact and implement a diverse array of their own requirements affecting the use of chemicals in products sold within...more
On September 14, 2015, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had issued warning letters to five providers of environmental certification seals and 32 companies using those seals, stating that use of the...more
The House of Representatives passed the TSCA Modernization Act of 2015 (H.R. 2576) on June 23, 2015 by a vote of 398 to 1, indicating that the long-awaited overhaul to the federal chemicals management law may be just around...more
In what is the latest in a line of Congressional proposals to beef up the federal government’s authority to regulate cosmetics, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), has proposed a bill aimed at dramatically increasing Food and...more
On April 28, a modified version of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (S. 697), also known as the “Udall-Vitter” Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform bill, was approved by the Senate...more
Legislation to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), already introduced in the Senate, has taken a step forward in the House of Representatives as well. ...more
On April 6, EPA published a proposed rule that would impose one-time reporting requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) on manufacturers and processors of nanoscale forms of certain chemical substances....more
The U.S. Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) issued an opinion this month that sheds light on section 8(e) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA); specifically, the applicability of the “continuing violations doctrine” to...more
On March 10, 2015, Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and David Vitter (R-La.) introduced the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (S. 697), to modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). ...more
On December 29, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final significant new use rule (SNUR) with potentially broad implications for future chemical management policy under the Toxic Substances Control...more
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register proposing to make more stringent a federal prohibition on phthalates in many children’s products....more
In a rare bipartisan gesture, on December 11, 2014, the House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 4007, the “Protecting and Securing Chemicals Facilities from Terrorist Attacks Act of 2014” (“Act”), which the Senate...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has updated its Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan of chemicals for further assessment. EPA first released the TSCA Work Plan in early 2012 to help focus and direct the...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has withdrawn its long-delayed proposal to regulate nanotechnology under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and submitted a new alternative proposed rule for consideration and...more