Legal Blog

On February 23, 2015, California Assemblyman Bill Quirk introduced AB 543, which would amend Section 25249.6 of Proposition 65 to clarify that a person in the course of doing business does not "knowingly and intentionally" expose an individual to a listed chemical in violation of the law, if the person has an exposure assessment that meets certain criteria. This bill, if passed, will promote the use of such assessments to guide a company's decision to warn or not, will help reduce so-called "overwarning," and will provide companies with another statutory basis to resist enforcement actions. Under this bill, an exposure assessment must…

On January 21, 2015, EPA published proposed Significant New Use Rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act for long-chain perfluroalkyl carboxylate (LCPFAC) and perfluroalkyl sulfonate (PFAS) substances.  The SNURs would require manufacturers, importers and processors to submit a Significant New Use Notice (SNUN) before commencing the identified significant new uses.  Comments must be submitted no later than March 23, 2015. PFAS chemicals are used in specialty chemical formulations in a variety of applications, including firefighting foam.  Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a LCPFAC chemical, is used in the manufacture of fluoropolymers.  Fluoropolymers are used in the manufacture of nonstick surfaces (as…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has published a proposed Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) for 2,4-toluene diisocyanate, 2,6-toluene diisocyanate, and toluene diisocyanate unspecified isomers (collectively referred to as "toluene diisocyanate" and "TDI") under the federal Toxic Substances Control Act.  The proposed significant new use is any use in a consumer product, except for coatings, elastomers, adhesives, binders and sealants that result in 0.1%or less (by weight) of TDI in a consumer product.  This regulatory action follows EPA's 2011 Chemical Action Plan for TDI, in which EPA explicitly considered a SNUR as a possible next step in TDI regulation. Under TSCA Section 5,…

On January 27, 2015, the federal Food and Drug Administration published a notice seeking public comments on the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommendation to impose international manufacturing and distribution restrictions on certain chemicals, including gamma butyrolactone (GBL).  GBL is widely used as an industrial solvent but is regulated under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) because it may be diverted for illicit purposes. The WHO's recommended restrictions could impair companies' ability to use GBL for legitimate commercial purposes and disrupt exemptions to federal CSA regulatory requirements that are critical to a wide variety of industries in the U.S. which use…

On January 13, 2015, Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation filed a lawsuit against the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment in Alameda County Superior Court (Case No. RG15754547), alleging that the current Proposition 65 warning level for lead of 0.5 micrograms per day is based on old science and that "there is no threshold exposure level below which the neurodevelopmental toxicity of lead cannot be seen to occur." Mateel, a prolific Proposition 65 bounty hunter which has filed thousands of Proposition 65 lawsuits, seeks an order requiring OEHHA to rescind the current Maximum Acceptable Dose Level (MADL) for lead --…