Chemical Engineering Trends, Intellectual Property Litigation, & Industry Predictions – IMS Insights Podcast Episode 50
What to Expect in Chemicals Policy and Regulation and on Capitol Hill in 2023
As reported in our April 11, 2025, blog item, applications for currently unavoidable use determinations for products containing intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and scheduled to be...more
California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) proposed adding microplastics as a Candidate Chemical to be regulated under the Safer Consumer Products (SCP) program on June 20, 2025. This action and its subsequent...more
As the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Administrator Lee Zeldin lays out an ambitious regulatory agenda related to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), state lawmakers, state attorneys general,...more
By June 1, all entities that supply, manufacture, produce, or distribute aerosol products that contain fluorinated greenhouse gases with a GWP20 greater than 10 (regulated substances), for sale or use in New York, must...more
On April 8, 2025, New Mexico became the third state to sign into law a comprehensive ban on the use of intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in consumer and commercial products: the “Per- and...more
The California Senate Environmental Quality Committee passed California Senate Bill 682 aiming to ban the sale of products with intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) unless deemed to have...more
Maine recently published proposed rules (PDF link) aimed at implementation of its existing statute (which we’ve discussed here, here and here) limiting the sale and distribution within the state of products containing...more
After more than forty years of research, scientists finally determined the molecular formula of a chemical found in chloraminated drinking water. Using advanced analytical techniques, researchers detected and characterized...more
In a development no one could have predicted several weeks ago, the first hearing of the 119th Congress in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (E&C) focused on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and amendments to...more
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly released a report entitled “New Chemicals Program: EPA Needs a Systematic Process to Better Manage and Assess Performance” on January 22, 2025. GAO states that it was...more
On January 22, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. (EST), the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment will hold a hearing entitled “A Decade Later: Assessing the Legacy and Impact of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for...more
The U.S. EPA recently announced that it released new risk management rules under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for TCE and PCE.1 Manufacturers and other industrial clients need to be cognizant of these new rules...more
On November 13, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of its final supplement to the risk evaluation and revised unreasonable risk determination for 1,4-dioxane under the Toxic Substances...more
Companies using formaldehyde in their manufacturing processes and/or selling products incorporating formaldehyde-containing components from upstream suppliers face significant challenges in an evolving regulatory landscape....more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) has issued two pre-publication announcements on notable regulatory actions that may affect your business. The first one will increase the amount of information that...more
Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti is suing more than 20 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) manufacturers, including 3M and DuPont, seeking injunctive and monetary relief under the state’s public nuisance and uniform...more
Carbon tetrachloride (CTC) is a solvent used as a raw material in commercial settings to produce chemicals such as hydrofluoroolefins for refrigerants, aerosol propellants, foam-blowing agents, chlorinated compounds, and...more
After a more than 26 year hiatus, on July 22, 2022, the Superfund chemical excise tax (the “Superfund Chemical Tax”) will again become effective. This excise tax, reinstated by the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and...more
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has long provided EPA with authority to review new chemical substances in a gatekeeper role as such substances enter U.S. commerce. ...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to announce that it will extend the deadline for the 2020 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) chemical data reporting (CDR) period from November 30, 2020, to January 29,...more
With the EU Chemical Agency's recent announcement that four new substances will be added to the Candidate List1, you might be thinking: what's next for the UK and its chemicals legislation?...more
Until today, EPA had not adopted a final risk management rule under section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act in 30 years. That drought has ended, now that EPA has published a final rule restricting consumer use of...more
As we previously outlined, the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”) was amended in 2016 to provide EPA with much broader authority to regulate “existing” chemical substances (i.e., those that are already in use in commerce)....more
The Environmental Due Diligence section of the blog Commonground addresses a variety of issues associated with environmental and/or due diligence assessments of improved and unimproved real properties. A March 9th post...more
The Subcommittee on Environment of the United States House of Representatives (“Committee”) held a hearing on April 13th titled: High Octane Fuels and High Efficiency Vehicle: Challenges and Opportunities ...more