Toxics

EPA efforts to expand toxic chemical regulations and reform its risk-assessment process, as well as the debate over revising the Toxic Substances Control Act, are just some of the topics featured in our Toxics section.

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EPA efforts to expand toxic chemical regulations and reform its risk-assessment process, as well as the debate over revising the Toxic Substances Control Act, are just some of the topics featured in our Toxics section.

New York loses attempt to sever PFAS claims from consolidated case

The state of New York has lost another attempt to sever tort litigation tied to firefighting foam containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from consolidated multidistrict litigation being overseen by a federal district court, failing once again to convince the court to allow its litigation to be heard by a state court -- generally a more favorable venue for states. In a Sept. 27 decision , the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina backs manufacturers’ arguments that...

Citing ‘unstable’ environment, EtO-emitting Illinois plant to shut down

The controversial sterilization plant near Chicago that spurred a new wave of legislative and regulatory attention from EPA and Illinois on the potential carcinogen ethylene oxide (EtO) is abandoning operations in the area, with its parent company blaming “the unstable legislative and regulatory landscape in Illinois” for the decision. Chicago’s WGN television news team reports that the sterilization firm Sterigenics announced Sept. 30 that it “could not reach an agreement” to renew a lease for one its facilities in the...

States Seek More Research, Test Methods To Address PFAS Air Transport

SEATTLE -- State officials are raising fresh concerns that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) can travel long distances through the air, allowing the already widespread contaminants to reach areas far from facilities where they are manufactured or used, and are calling for new research into test methods that could detect airborne PFAS. “Evidence is increasingly leading towards a theory of air deposition that’s kind of scary, because that means there’s no limit to where this can go,” New Jersey environment...

Senate FY20 report includes multiple policy directives to EPA

Senate appropriators in a report released alongside their draft fiscal year 2020 spending bill for EPA offer numerous directives to the agency on a range of topics, including suggesting that the agency use its controversial authority to block a high-profile mining project. Both the FY20 spending bill and the accompanying report language were approved by the full Senate Appropriations Committee Sept. 26, though there is broader uncertainty about whether Congress can enact many spending bills this year or whether they...

Wheeler Warns Hazardous Substance Listing For PFAS ‘Nearly Impossible’

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler says it would be “nearly impossible” to implement a high-profile measure in the pending fiscal year 2020 defense authorization bill that would require EPA to designate all per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as hazardous substances under the Superfund law within one year, triggering liability for parties that contributed to releases. “That would mean bypassing our programs, designating thousands of substances for which we do not yet have adequate scientific data,” Wheeler said Sept. 26 at a...

House Panel Advances Asbestos, PFAS Bills On Primarily Partisan Vote

A House Energy and Commerce Committee panel has advanced on a primarily partisan basis a bill to ban all uses of asbestos and a package of 13 bills to deal with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), though one PFAS bill drew broad bipartisan support and Republicans said they are open to negotiating with Democrats on several others before a full committee vote. “I had hoped that, at this point, members of the committee on both sides of the aisle would...

Senate EPW backs CSB nominee but vacancies raise concerns

The Senate environment panel has approved President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Chemical Safety Board (CSB), clearing the path for her Senate confirmation, though a key GOP senator continues to urge the White House to fill other current and pending vacancies to ensure CSB can continue its incident investigation and other functions. In a unanimous Sept. 25 vote , the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee (EPW) approved Dr. Katherine Lemos, a former official with the Federal Aviation Administration...

House Energy Panel PFAS Bills May Boost Defense Legislation Provisions

A House Energy and Commerce panel is scheduled to mark up a package of 13 bills dealing with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that includes provisions contained in House and Senate defense bills, asserting the committee’s jurisdiction over the subject and potentially boosting support for the measures in the final defense bill. The markup by the energy committee’s Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee comes as conferees to the fiscal year 2020 defense authorization bill are negotiating how to resolve differences...

House Democrats poised to advance asbestos bill

House Democrats on the Energy & Commerce Committee appear poised to advance legislation banning all uses of asbestos within 12 months though the bill’s sponsors have so far not won public support from Republicans, raising questions on how or whether a companion measure will advance in the Senate. The committee’s environment and climate change subcommittee is scheduled to mark up the asbestos ban, H.R. 1603, Sept. 26, along with 14 other bills addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and spent...

EPA, plaintiffs battle over landmark TSCA fluoridation trial schedule

Environmentalists and EPA are battling over whether a judge should delay a first-time Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) trial, slated to begin early next year, to determine whether the agency should ban fluoride, with the plaintiffs charging that EPA’s request to delay the trial would “derail the entire schedule of this case.” The dueling over the trial marks the latest steps in the landmark TSCA suit, Food & Water Watch Inc., et al, v. EPA , where environmentalists and public...

‘Worried’ House Democrats Step Up Push For Superfund PFAS Measure

“Worried” House Democrats are stepping up their push for defense bill conferees to preserve their amendment requiring EPA to list per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as “hazardous substances” under the Superfund law in the face of opposition from Senate environment committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY). During a Sept. 24 press conference with environmental groups, three lawmakers championed the House bill’s various PFAS provisions, but in particular sought to make the case for conferees -- who are currently working on the...

Environmentalists, law firm spar over threatened TSCA suit

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is pushing back against an industry law firm’s criticism over its threatened lawsuit over Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) notification violations in EPA’s new chemicals program, arguing that its claims are valid and consequential. In a Sept. 20 blog post, titled “No, Bergeson & Campbell, the public’s right to know about new chemicals is not a distraction or waste of resources,” EDF defends the Sept. 3 notice that it and several labor and environmental groups...

IG launches review of 2009 GenX order

EPA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) is launching an evaluation into the agency’s new chemicals review program and whether it verified compliance with the consent order it entered into in 2009 with DuPont, the manufacturer of GenX, a newer, short-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) chemical that has been found in the Cape Fear River in North Carolina, a significant drinking water source. OIG announced Sept. 23 that it is beginning “an evaluation” of EPA’s implementation of the 2009 Toxic...

ATSDR awards $7 million for multi-site PFAS study

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has awarded $7 million in research grants to researchers who will study per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure in 10 contaminated communities around the country, a study authorized by the 2018 and 2019 defense spending legislation. In a Sept. 23 press release, ATSDR, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), says the new study will be the first “to look at exposure to multiple PFAS at...

Science Rule Schedule Slips As EPA Readies Supplemental, Wheeler Says

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler told the House science committee Sept. 19 that the agency’s schedule for issuing its controversial rule barring regulators from relying on scientific research that is not published has slipped as the agency is preparing to issue a supplemental proposal in early 2020. “I was hoping [the supplemental] would be published prior to 2020, but in my staff notes, I’m told early next year,” Wheeler said in response to lawmakers’ questions. “Things seem to take longer than...

OMB completes review of proposed DOE mercury storage fees rule

The White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) has completed its review of a proposed Energy Department (DOE) rule on elemental mercury storage fees, as part of a program to designate a facility for long-term storage of the substance under a 2008 law banning the export of mercury. According to OMB’s website, it completed mandatory pre-publication review of DOE’s proposed “Elemental Mercury Storage Fees” rule on Sept. 16 “consistent with change,” clearing its path for issuance. The department will...

Judge Raises New Queries After EPA Seeks To Clarify Stance In TSCA Case

A federal judge is asking EPA and environmentalists to respond to a set of questions in a potentially precedent-setting Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) case after an agency lawyer sought to clarify statements she made during recent oral arguments but instead raised new doubts about the agency’s stances on key issues and the suit’s procedural posture. In a Sept. 17 order, Judge Edward Chen of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California asked EPA and environmentalists to...


DOD Stresses Government-Wide Approach In PFAS Task Force Principles

The Defense Department (DOD) is outlining in just-released operating principles the scope and purpose of its high-level task force on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), making clear that it wants to take a “whole of government approach” in collaboration with EPA to respond to the pollutants believed to be at hundreds of military sites. The Pentagon Sept. 17 released the operating principles for its PFAS Task Force -- which Defense Secretary Mark Esper created in July in an effort to...

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