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By Jay W. Connolly and Aaron Belzer

bottleSeyfarth Synopsis: New California regulations provide more specific guidance on the content of Prop 65 “safe harbor” warnings, and on the corresponding methods for providing such warnings.

Come August 30, 2018, consumer products to be released into the California marketplace must meet new regulations under California’s infamous Proposition 65. On August 30, 2016,…
Continue Reading Retail Detail: California Adopts New Regulations For Warnings Under Proposition 65: CAVEAT VENDITOR (Sellers Beware)

By Andrew H. Perellis and Craig B. Simonsen

Power Lines and Pulp Mill PollutionThe U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has just issued a report on Critical Infrastructure Protection with a finding that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) action is needed to verify chemical facility information and to better manage its compliance process. Report to Congress, GAO-15-614 (July 2015).

Risk Level for Facilities

The Report states…
Continue Reading DHS Chemical Facilities Take Note GAO Suggested Need For Enhanced Enforcement

By Jay W. Connolly, Aaron Belzer, and Jared L. Palmer

On April 28, 2015, the Environmental Law Foundation (“ELF”) filed a petition in the California Supreme Court for review of the Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Environmental Law Foundation v. Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp., et al., No. A139821, 2015 WL 1212155 (Cal. Ct. App. Mar. 17,…
Continue Reading Impact of California Appellate Decision on Proposition 65 Actions Unclear

By Ilana R. Morady and Meagan Newman

On January 15, 2015, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to modify the clear and reasonable warning regulations under Proposition 65.

As most businesses residing in or doing business in California know, Proposition 65 is the law that requires businesses to notify Californians about the…
Continue Reading California Proposes New Rules For Proposition 65 Clear And Reasonable Warnings

By Ilana R. Morady, Meagan Newman, and Craig B. Simonsen

The EPA, in an effort to expand the number of chemicals and functional-use categories on its  Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL), is inviting chemical manufacturers to submit their chemicals for review and listing.

The SCIL includes chemicals that have met EPA safety criteria developed by the Design for the …
Continue Reading EPA Wants Your Chemicals to be Designated as Safer Chemical Ingredients

By Ilana R. Morady and Craig B. Simonsen

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General has just released a report on an evaluation of the EPA’s “Design for the Environment” (DfE) Program. At A Glance, No. 14-P-0349 (September 9, 2014). The Inspector General found flaws in the current DfE logo, including that it improperly implied an EPA…
Continue Reading EPA Inspector General Finds Issues with EPA’s “Design for the Environment” Program

The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center will present a scientific workshop on “PCBs and Their Impact on Illinois,” at the University of Illinois, Chicago, Student Center East, in Chicago, Illinois, on September 17, 2014.

The Center notes that PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) “are a class of synthetic chemicals widely used in industry as a coolant and electrical insulator. Their use…
Continue Reading Scientific Workshop on PCBs and Their Impacts

By James L. Curtis and Craig B. Simonsen

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) intended to “mature” the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program, and to identify ways to make the program more effective in achieving its regulatory objectives. 79 Fed. Reg. 48693 (August 18, 2014).

The CFATS program was intended…
Continue Reading DHS Proposing to “Mature” Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Program

By Jeryl L. Olson and Craig B. Simonsen

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in response to Executive Order 13650, Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security (EO), is publically, through a Federal Register notice, requesting public comments on “potential revisions” to its Risk Management Program. 79 Fed. Reg. 44604 (July 31, 2014).

This request is part of an effort highlighted in…
Continue Reading EPA Request for Information on Clean Air Act Accidental Release Prevention Program

By Craig B. Simonsen

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced the public release of its Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) database which was previously used almost exclusively by EPA. The database contains comprehensive use and exposure  information on more than 7,600 of the most widely used chemicals in the United States, gathered from Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) regulated manufacturers…

Continue Reading EPA Releases to Public the Chemical Data Reporting Database