All Things Chemical

This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Jane Vergnes , Director of Toxicology and Vice President, Scientific Affairs, here at B&C and its consulting affiliate, The Acta Group (Acta ® ), about the regulation of PFAS under REACH. Many of our listeners know the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) released on February 7 its long-awaited restriction proposal for the regulation of per- and polyfl...

This week, Dr. Richard E. Engler , Director of Chemistry for B&C and The Acta Group (Acta ® ), our consulting affiliate, returned to the studio to discuss a recently filed lawsuit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) issuance of a Consent Order under Section 5(e) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Judicial challenges to TSCA Section 5(e) orders are rare, and this o...

This week, I sat down with the truly legendary Robert M. Sussman , of Sussman & Associates, to discuss Bob's extraordinary career engaging in all things Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), new and old. Bob was a prominent private-practice attorney and frequent senior official at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before TSCA was amended in 2016. Since the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical...

This week, I welcomed back to the studio Karin F. Baron , Director of Hazard Communication and International Registration Strategy at B&C and our consulting affiliate, The Acta Group. Karin and I discuss the newly enacted Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022, better known as MoCRA. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been the subject of criticism for years over what some regard...

The train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, has inspired a lot of conversation involving a wide range of topics, including emergency response measures, rail transport of chemicals, and most pertinent to this conversation, communicating chemical risk information to the public. Several of my colleagues here at Bergeson & Campbell have worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in var...

This week, I sat down with Dr. Tina N. Armstrong , a Vice President with Arcadis U.S., Inc., to discuss the role of product stewardship in business organizations today. To those of us in this space, Tina is a rock star. In addition to her role as a business leader and scientist at Arcadis, Tina is a professor in product stewardship strategy and management at the Indiana University Richard M. Fairb...

This week, I had the pleasure of catching up with Dr. Catherine M. Croke , B&C's and our consulting affiliate's, The Acta Group, new Director of Product Stewardship and Regulatory Affairs. Catherine joined us recently from Evonik Corporation, where she was Senior Advocacy and Compliance Manager. Catherine's diverse and truly extraordinary background working for industrial chemical companies in a v...

This week, I welcomed back to the studio Karin F. Baron , Director of Hazard Communication and International Registration Strategy at B&C and our consulting affiliate, The Acta Group. During this 100th All Things Chemical podcast, Karin and I discuss the very important recently released amendments to the Canadian Hazardous Products Regulations (HPR). The amendments are intended to align the HPR wi...

This week, I sat down with Jim Aidala , Senior Government Affairs Consultant at B&C and its consulting affiliate, The Acta Group. We discuss what to expect in 2023 from Capitol Hill and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) when it comes to key chemical matters. Jim is, of course, one of the country's most talented pesticide exp...

This week, Dr. Richard E. Engler , Director of Chemistry for B&C and The Acta Group (Acta ® ), our consulting affiliate, returned to the studio to discuss what to expect in Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) regulation in the New Year. While we cannot predict with precision, we know 2023 will be a consequential year for several reasons: the first final risk management rule will be issued, the fin...

This week, Dr. Richard E. Engler , Director of Chemistry for B&C and The Acta Group, our consulting affiliate, returned to the studio to discuss the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) bold moves in developing new chemical categories to help streamline the review of new chemicals under Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 5. While the categorical approach to new chemical review is...

This week, Dr. Richard E. Engler , Director of Chemistry for B&C and The Acta Group, our consulting affiliate, returned to the studio to discuss the stubbornly vexatious problem of TSCA's regulation of articles, a fancy name for products or finished goods. Most listeners to the podcast appreciate that this U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administration has specifically applied TSCA regu...

This week, I welcomed back to the studio Karin F. Baron , Senior Regulatory Consultant at B&C and our consulting affiliate, The Acta Group. Karin and I discuss the controversial changes proposed by the European Commission to the regulation on classification, labeling, and packaging of substances and mixtures, better known as the CLP regulation. As our listeners know, no one knows this space better...

This week, I sat down with Dr. Claire Skentelbery , Director General, EuropaBio -- The European Association for Bioindustries. Many of you may know Claire from her prior role as Director General of the Nanotechnology Industries Association, where she energized that Brussels-based trade association to new and exciting heights. Claire has brought her considerable scientific, science policy, and trad...

This week I sat down with Doug Charnas , a nationally- recognized corporate and tax attorney and partner at McGlinchey, in its Washington, D.C. offices, and our own Dr. Richard Engler , Director of Chemistry at Bergeson & Campbell and at our consulting affiliate, The Acta Group. We discuss the recently reinstated Superfund Tax, which entities the tax applies to, what exactly is a taxable chemical...

This week, I welcomed back to the studio Karin F. Baron , Senior Regulatory Consultant at B&C and our consulting affiliate, The Acta Group. Karin and I discuss the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) initiative called the New Era of Smarter Food Safety. The goal of this initiative is to diminish the number of foodborne illness, which, surprisingly, has not diminished since the Food Safety Mo...

This week I sat down with James Cox , M.S., Senior Scientist with B&C. James is an exceptional biologist with significant experience assessing the risk of industrial chemicals. Before joining B&C, James served in a variety of leadership positions in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevent and Toxics, one of which was Chair of the Risk Assessment Technical Team,...

This week I sat down with Professor Delcianna J. Winders , Professor and Animal Law and Policy Institute Director at the Vermont Law School. Professor Winders is a total rock star in the exploding area of animal law. Prior to joining the Vermont Law School faculty and founding the Animal Law and Policy Institute, Professor Winders was on the faculty of Lewis & Clark Law School. She previously serv...

This week I sat down with Dr. Richard E. Engler , B&C's and The Acta Group's (our consulting affiliate) Director of Chemistry, to discuss the new chemical bias. Our listeners know that Rich Engler has worked for decades reviewing Premanufacture Notifications submitted under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). PMNs are applications to manufacture or import chemical substances that are not list...

This week, I sat down with Dr. Dianne Barton , Water Quality Coordinator at the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission in Portland, Oregon, where she puts her Ph. D. in geochemistry to good use by providing technical expertise related to water quality, environmental toxics, regulatory processes, and the fate and transport of contaminants. Dr. Barton, who is a member of the Bad River Band of L...

This week, I sat down with David Cragin , Ph. D., DABT ® , Quality Assurance and External Affairs Director for a large multinational pharmaceutical company, to discuss his experience living and working in China. For many listeners, working with foreign regulators can be particularly challenging for a variety of reasons, including language barriers, cultural differences, and differing regulatory st...

This week, I sat down with Sheryl Lindros Dolan , Senior Regulatory Consultant with B&C and Senior Regulatory Specialist with our consulting affiliate, The Acta Group, and Meibao Zhuang, Ph. D. , Senior Scientist/Regulatory Consultant with B&C and Acta, to discuss pesticide tolerances, what are they, how does the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) develop them, and how well government and...

This week, I sat down with Jake Li , Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pesticide Programs, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and my colleague, Jim Aidala , Senior Government Affairs Consultant here at B&C. My guests have much in common -- they both have served (or in Jake's case is serving) in senior policy positions in this space at E...

This week, I sat down with Lisa R. Burchi , Of Counsel, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., and resident expert on Proposition 65 (Prop 65), among many other chemical laws. Few state laws are more notorious, or controversial, as this 1986 California law that revolutionized the concept of a consumer's or worker's "right to know" whether a product or work space might present exposures to chemicals considered...

This week, I welcomed back to the studio Karin F. Baron , Senior Regulatory Consultant at B&C and our consulting affiliate, The Acta Group. Karin is an internationally recognized expert on hazard communication, risk assessment, the regulation of food contact materials, and the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). Karin's expertise in hazard communication an...