Monthly Archives: June 2016

On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, amending -- for the first time in 40 years -- the federal Toxic Substances Control Act. These amendments reflect strong bipartisan leadership on a thorny chemical regulation issue that has plagued Congress for years, i.e., how to improve chemical safety in the United States without impeding innovation and U.S. companies' competitive standing in the global marketplace. That said, there will be a period of uncertainty, while U.S. EPA begins the rulemakings necessary to implement the amendments and while the agency…

On May 20, 2016, the federal Food and Drug Administration announced that it had agreed to consider a petition to withdraw its approval of a number of phthalate chemicals as food additives for use in food packaging and food handling equipment. The petition was submitted by a number of non-governmental organizations, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund and Center for Food Safety. Phthalates can be used in food contact applications such as coatings in articles for holding food, or as components of paper and paperboard coming into contact with foods, or adhesives. The petition identifies a number of phthalate chemicals…

On June 13, 2016, the California Office of Administrative Law approved the Proposition 65 Maximum Acceptable Dose Level (MADL) for bisphenol A (BPA) of 3 micrograms per day via dermal absorption from solid materials, proposed by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment on March 17, 2016.  The MADL becomes legally effective on October 1, 2016. OEHHA has not yet proposed a MADL for BPA oral exposure; that regulatory exercise likely is months away, if not longer. In the meantime, the Center for Environmental Health has served a Proposition 65 Notice of Violation on Del Taco Restaurants, Inc., Del…

On May 27, 2016, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment published a Proposition 65 Safe Use Determination (SUD) for diisononyl phthalate (DINP) in Tandus Centiva ER3® Modular Vinyl Carpet Tiles. The SUD concludes that no Proposition 65 warnings are required for DINP exposures to residents with such carpet tiles installed in their homes, if DINP is present in the tiles only in the tiles' secondary backing layer and at a concentration of no more than 9% by weight in that layer. The SUD also concludes that no Proposition 65 warnings are required for professional installers, if the DINP…

On May 12, 2016, Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY) introduced the "Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2016," H.R. 5205, which would require ingredient labeling for certain consumer cleaning products. The introduction of this bill follows the failure of a similar California bill, AB 708. Under H.R. 5205, all ingredients, even those present at less than 1% of the product, would have to be identified. Additional information would have to be disclosed on the manufacturer's website, including an explanation of each ingredient's purpose. Significantly, the bill would require the disclosure of individual ingredients in dyes, fragrances and preservatives, information which, as trade…