Earth Day 2023--Investing in a Balanced Approach to Emerging Contaminants
Tuesday, April 18, 2023
By: Daniel L. Robertson, Associate Attorney
In the 1962 book, Silent Spring, Rachel Carson brought to the forefront of public attention contaminants of emerging concern (CECs). CECs, or emerging contaminants, are chemicals or materials that can be characterized by a perceived, potential or real threat to human health or the environment. These threats typically “emerge” as advances in scientific technologies reveal previously unknown adverse effects of a specific chemical that may already be ubiquitous in the environment. Examples in recent years include 1,4 dioxane, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), ethylene oxide, and per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS). Pharmaceuticals and nanomaterials are increasingly being considered as areas of concern that may require further scrutiny in future.
Often by the time adverse impacts are identified, the contaminant is in widespread use. PCBs, for example, were prevalent in coolants and lubricants in a variety of electrical equipment because PCBs are very effective insulators. PFAS were heralded as revolutionary for their effective fire-fighting and coating characteristics and currently are in a multitude of everyday products ranging from food packaging to the clothes we wear.
As we gain a better understanding of the potential effects of these chemicals, regulators face challenges in promulgating appropriate regulations for these CECs. Meanwhile, companies seemingly acting in full compliance with permits and regulatory requirements find themselves targeted by lawsuits seeking to compel remediation of impacted sites and product reformulation. Long dormant sites previously considered remediated may be reopened and additional clean-up required as, for example, may result as a result of U.S. EPA’s pending proposals to designate certain PFAS as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).
As history has shown, and due to ongoing technological advancements, new emerging contaminants will continue to be identified and the process of evaluating potential health and environmental risks will begin anew. There is an ongoing debate as to whether the approach employed by the Toxic Substances and Control Act (TSCA) is the most effective approach to regulating CECs, when contrasted for example with the approach taken by the European Union’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). While both programs are designed to protect human health and the environment through restricting the use of harmful substances, they accomplish this through different means. TSCA requires reporting oversight of a chemical where U.S. EPA demonstrates an unreasonable risk. REACH, on the other hand, obligates manufacturers and importers to register and demonstrate the safe control of a chemical prior to that chemical being placed into the market.
As applied to PFAS, in the United States, U.S. EPA seeks to regulate specific PFAS through a variety of avenues. In August 2022, U.S. EPA proposed designating two PFAS substances as CERCLA hazardous substances, and in April 2023 proposed additional PFAS substance designations. In March 2023, U.S. EPA simultaneously proposed maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) setting drinking water limits for two PFAS compounds and proposed to regulate four additional PFAS through a Hazard Index screening approach that will require site-specific determinations for drinking water concentration. Pursuant to the 2019 PFAS Act, 176 PFAS substances have been added to the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) chemical database, creating additional reporting liabilities for impacted companies. However, in December 2022, U.S. EPA proposed reclassifying all TRI-listed PFAS to the Chemicals of Special Concern list, which would further increase reporting scrutiny on regulated companies. Each of these practices takes significant resources to implement, and with 10,000 PFAS already identified, could create a significant investment over time.
Contrast this approach with the approach of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) that in February proposed a blanket restriction of all 10,000 PFAS substances in the European Union. This itself creates uncertainty for companies where no commonly accepted testing methods exist whereby companies can test for all of these compounds. The approach further restricts PFAS chemicals for which studies on their adverse impacts may not yet exist. It is expected that ECHA will receive a substantial number of comments on its proposal, much like U.S. EPA has received on its proposals discussed above.
While there may not be a single “right” way to address CECs, the risks posed by emerging contaminants will continue to challenge both the regulators and the regulated community to find the appropriate regulatory balance between protection of human health and the environment and the need to continue to manufacture products that we rely upon daily. As demonstrated by the 2016 Lautenberg amendments to TSCA, stakeholders on all sides appear invested to continue striving towards this balance.
U.S. EPA Issues Final Guidance on PFAS SNUR
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
By Steven M. Siros, Co-Chair, Environmental and Workplace Health and Safety Law Practice
On January 19, 2021, four days after the close of the comment period, U.S. EPA issued its final guidance document to aid in implementation of its Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) for long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylate and perfluoroalkyl sulfonate chemical substances (PFAS). Not surprisingly, in light of the short time between the close of comments and issuance of the guidance, the final guidance remained largely unchanged from the draft version.
In July 2020, U.S. EPA finalized its PFAS SNUR that requires notice and U.S. EPA review before manufacturing and processing for use certain long-chain PFAS that have been phased out in the United States. In addition, articles containing these long-chain PFAS as part of a surface coating cannot be imported into the United States without submission of a Significant New Use Notice (SNUN).
The guidance provides examples of what would and would not be articles subject to the SNUR as well as clarification on what is meant as a “surface coatings.” Although U.S. EPA declined to provide a regulatory definition of “surface coating” in the PFAS SNUR, the guidance indicates that any long-chain PFAS meeting one of the following two criteria would be a surface coating covered by the SNUR:
- Coating on any surface of an article that is in direct contact with humans or the environment during the article’s normal use or reuse, whether the coating is oriented towards the interior or exterior of the article; or
- Coating on any internal component, even if facing the interior of the article, if that component is in contact with humans or the environment during the article’s normal use or reuse.
Many environmental groups noted that the “direct contact” standard and the refusal to consider potential exposures associated with the disposal and/or misuse of these articles was contrary to the provisions of the PFAS SNUR and these groups are urging the Biden Administration to revisit the guidance. Because the new guidance is not labeled as “significant”, it did not need to follow the formal notice-and-comment process but this would also arguably allow the incoming Biden administration to quickly rework and issue its own guidance for implementing the PFAS SNUR.
We will continue to provide updates on efforts by the Biden Administration to implement the PFAS SNUR on the Corporate Environmental Lawyer blog.
EPA Extends CDR Reporting Deadline
Thursday, November 19, 2020
The chemical industry has received some relief from a November 30th deadline to submit information to U.S. EPA pursuant to the Chemical Data Reporting Rule (“CDR”). Section 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”) authorizes U.S. EPA to promulgate rules pursuant to which manufacturers and processors of chemical substances must maintain records and submit information to U.S. EPA. To that end, U.S. EPA promulgated the CDR that requires entities that manufacture certain chemicals listed on the TSCA inventory in excess of 25,000 pounds annually (lower thresholds apply for certain listed chemicals) to report basic production information to U.S. EPA every four years. The 2020 reporting deadline had been November 30, 2020.
U.S. EPA recently revised the CDR to comply with the 2016 TSCA amendments. These revisions were intended to improve the reliability and usefulness of the data collected and reduce the overall reporting burden on regulated entities. For example, the revised rule allows for the use of data and processing codes based on those already in use by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The rule also incorporates exemptions for certain byproducts and amends the requirements to claim that the submitted data constitutes confidential business information (“CBI”) (requiring the upfront substantiation of all CBI claims).
On October 26th, the American Chemical Council requested a 60-day extension from the November 30th deadline, noting significant technical issues with the electronic CDR submission platform. Notwithstanding objections from a variety of environmental groups, U.S. EPA has extended the CDR reporting deadline to January 29, 2021. The extension is good news for the regulated community as it works to compile the substantial information necessary to comply with the CDR requirements.
We will continue to track and provide updates on the CDR and other reporting obligations for chemical manufacturer on Jenner & Block’s Corporate Environmental Lawyer blog.
California Becomes First State to Ban PFAS in Cosmetics
Friday, October 02, 2020
On August 30, 2020, the California legislature passed the Toxic Free Cosmetics Act making California the first state to ban certain chemicals from cosmetics. Governor Newson signed the bill into law on October 1, 2020. The new law amends existing regulatory programs in California and provides that cosmetics containing any of a specific list of 24 chemicals will be considered “adulterated” and therefore unable to be sold in California. The specific list of chemicals includes certain phthalates and formaldehyde. However, the chemicals that have received the most attention are various per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances. Although some states have previously implemented legislation banning certain chemicals in cosmetic products (Minnesota banned formaldehyde in certain children’s personal care products; Washington requires that certain chemicals in children’s products be reported), California has become the first state to implement such a broad ban on these listed chemicals in cosmetics generally.
The ban will take effect on January 1, 2025 providing companies with time to take the necessary steps to eliminate any of the 24 listed chemicals from their cosmetic products. Of course, many companies have already taken steps to eliminate these chemicals from their products especially since many of these chemicals are already on California’s Proposition 65 list. However, unlike with Proposition 65 where compliance can be demonstrated by the provision of the requisite warnings, the Toxic Free Cosmetics Act will require elimination of these chemicals (with the exception of unavoidable trace quantities).
We will continue to provide regulatory updates as more states are likely to follow California’s lead in regulating these chemicals in various personal care products.