Ann Grimaldi

Responding to an EPA Office of Inspector General recommendation, EPA has committed to publishing a comprehensive rule on confidential business information (CBI) claims under the Toxic Substances Control Act by September 30, 2014. The scope of CBI protection under TSCA has been a controversial issue for years, and is one of the key stumbling points for TSCA reform.  In 2009, former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced the agency's commitment to increase access to and transparency in chemical information submitted to EPA by businesses. Since then, EPA has tightened its approach for CBI protection.  As part of that commitment, EPA has reviewed TSCA submissions and…

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment's recent proposal to overhaul the Proposition 65 warning regulations has received an overwhelming negative response from the business community.  One submission alone, from a California Chamber of Commerce coalition, represented the views of over 130 trade organizations and companies expressing deep concerns about the cost and difficulty of compliance with the proposal's warning requirements and the resulting increased risk of frivolous enforcement actions. GLO previously reported on OEHHA's Proposition 65 warning regulation proposal.  OEHHA's stated goals are to promote more meaningful Proposition 65 warnings and reduce frivolous enforcement actions.  Yet, as the business stakeholders…

On May 16, 2014, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed into law a ban on the sale of cleaning and personal care products containing triclosan, an antibacterial agent used in a broad range of consumer products like hand soaps, body washes and dishwashing liquids.  The ban will go into effect on January 1, 2017. Triclosan use in ordinary consumer products has generated controversy recently, with ongoing debates about the chemical's safety and effectiveness. Minnesota's law represents the first U.S. state to actually ban triclosan, with New York considering a pending bill, A08697B.  This action follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's proposed…

As part of the California Attorney General's statutory obligation to monitor Proposition 65 enforcement, that office annually compiles data about the number of settlements, the parties entering into those settlements and how the monetary payments break down.  The AG just released its report for 2013, revealing that over 350 settlements resulted in total payments of over $17 million.  Plaintiffs' attorneys' fees accounted for over 70% of the total payments made by settling defendants.  The report also shows a continued high profile presence of plaintiffs represented by The Chanler Group, who collectively are responsible for over $7.6 million in payments in almost 200…

On May 5, 2014, the California Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring Program, also known as Biomonitoring California, published the results of its biomonitoring efforts in an interactive database.  According to the results,  a number of subpopulations have been exposed to several categories of chemicals. Biomonitoring California is a joint program of three California agencies:  the Department of Public Health, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and the Department of Toxic Substances Control.  The program was established in 2006 by S.B. 1379 "to assist in the evaluation of toxic chemicals in a representative sample of Californians, establish trends of these chemicals in…