With the new proposal, EPA seeks to limit the reporting burden on the chemical industry.
By Julia A. Hatcher, Tom Lee, and Hunter J. Kendrick
On November 10, 2025, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its much anticipated proposed changes to what is often referred to as the “8(a)(7) Rule” that requires businesses to report on the manufacture and import of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).1 As the name suggests, the rule derives from
The proposed rules would have triggered EPA risk reviews and restrictions on the industry.
By Julia A. Hatcher, Jennifer K. Roy, Nolan Fargo, and Bruce M. Johnson
On July 9, 2025, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdrew significant new use rules (SNURs) proposed under Section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 18 chemicals derived from waste plastic feedstocks.1 The 18 chemicals are part of a growing industry referred to as “advanced plastics
The rule, covering 218 organic chemical and polymer manufacturing plants, imposes stringent emission limits on six chemicals without exemptions for startup, shutdown, and malfunction.
By Karl Karg, Phil Sandick, and Nate Gelfand-Toutant
On April 9, 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule amending the Clean Air Act New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) that apply to emissions from the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry (SOCMI). The rule also finalizes amendments to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) that apply to the SOCMI (also called the Hazardous Organic NESHAP or HON) and to Group I and II Polymers and Resins Industries (P&R I and P&R II). Some of these amendments include updates to the maximum available treatment technology (MACT) standards, including those addressing heat exchange systems, storage vessels, and process vents, depending on the source category.
The rule will be effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register but will likely be challenged.
The notice is another step in EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap and emphasizes potential CERCLA enforcement.
By Kegan A. Brown, Gary P. Gengel, Thomas C. Pearce, and Taylor R. West
On January 12, 2023, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice to solicit public comments on its National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives (NECI) for Fiscal Years 2024-2027. The notice proposes a new NECI to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination, with a “focus on implementing the commitments to action made in EPA’s 2021-2024 [PFAS] Strategic Roadmap.”[1]
The proposed PFAS NECI emphasizes EPA’s intention to identify and pursue potentially responsible parties for PFAS contamination, including under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).
The Commission plans to adopt a proposal for a revised Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals in the last quarter of 2022.
By Joachim Grittmann and Alexander Wilhelm
On 20 January 2022, the European Commission opened a public consultation on revising Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH Regulation). The REACH Regulation entered into force on 1 June 2007 and is to be fundamentally revised under the Commission’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, which forms part of the European Green Deal. Until mid-April 2022, interested parties are encouraged to share their opinions on the most relevant aspects of the REACH Regulation to ensure the goals of the Commission on innovation for safe and sustainable chemicals and a high level of protection of health and the environment.
OSHA calls for comments on significant proposed amendments to align Hazard Communication Standard with the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals.
By Julia A. Hatcher, Stijn Van Osch, Nathaniel L. Glynn*, and Jacqueline J. Yap
The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA or the agency) published a proposed rule to amend its Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), 29 C.F.R. § 1910.1200. The February 16, 2021 amendments would align the HCS with the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) 2017 Seventh Revision (GHS Revision 7) in various respects, including by modifying the requirements to classify hazards and to communicate those hazards and other information in Safety Data Sheets (SDS) and labeling. The public comment period on the proposed rule runs until April 19, 2021. The OSHA webpage for the proposed rule provides a red-line strikeout comparison between the current HCS and the proposed amendments, which will be helpful for stakeholders to review as they prepare comments.
The framework represents China’s first comprehensive regulation of environmental risks from chemical substances.
By Paul A. Davies and R. Andrew Westgate
The Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment’s (MEE’s) draft Regulation on Environmental Risk Assessment and Control of Chemical Substances (Regulation) is likely to have broad implications for companies that manufacture, process, import, or export more than 100kg of any chemical substance in China. The framework represents China’s first comprehensive regulation of environmental risks from chemical substances.
Companies should be aware of MEE’s action plan for enforcing the Regulation, as well as those provisions that will impact their business activities.
China’s MEE is seeking comment on new chemical regulation framework, which includes a comprehensive environmental risk assessment.
Paul A. Davies, Ethan Prall, and R. Andrew Westgate
In January 2019, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) issued a draft Regulation on Environmental Risk Assessment, and Control of Chemical Substances (the Chemical Substances Regulation or CSR) in conjunction with 20 other ministries and agencies, including the Supreme People’s Court, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Commerce. MEE is seeking comment on the draft regulation through February 20, 2019, which is available in Chinese only.
This draft regulation is significant because it represents China’s first comprehensive regulation of environmental risks from chemical substances, similar to the Toxic Substances Control Act in the United States or the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals Regulation (REACH) in the European Union. In the past, China’s chemical regulations, such as Order 7 issued by the former Ministry of Environmental Protection (also known as China REACH), have been more narrowly focused on requiring the registration of “new chemical substances” and on the import and export of toxic chemicals. As discussed below, the draft CSR incorporates not only most of the existing chemical registration requirements under Order 7, but would also introduce additional requirements creating a broader new chemical regulation framework.
Waste producers must comply with new criteria and procedures for objects and products to benefit from end of waste status.
By Paul Davies
The French government has developed many measures to foster circular economy approaches. Most recently, a Ministerial Order of 11 December 2018 (Order) sets out criteria and procedures to end the waste status of certain objects and chemical products, to encourage their preparation for re-use.
The French Code of the Environment[i] defines “preparing for re-use” as “checking, cleaning or repairing recovery operations, by which products or components of products that have become waste are prepared so that they can be re-used without any other pre-processing.”
The Order requires that the objects and products meet specific criteria in order to benefit from the end of waste status. The criteria relate to:
The new department will assume broad oversight responsibilities as part of a broader government restructuring.
By Paul A. Davies and R. Andrew Westgate
China’s Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) has announced the establishment of a new department responsible for the safety, supervision, and management of hazardous chemicals. The MEM replaced the former State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS), and took over responsibility for product safety relating to fireworks, pharmaceuticals, and the chemical industry.
The creation of the new department reflects increasing focus on chemical safety after the 2015 explosion at the Port of Tianjin, which killed 173 people and injured 797. More recently, an explosion at a chemical factory in the city of Yibin, Sichuan province in July killed 19 people. These incidents highlight that hazardous material storage remains a challenge in China.
Zhang Xingkai, the president of the China Academy of Safety Science and Technology noted that in the four years between 2011 and 2015, approximately US$89.4 billion was lost due to workplace accidents. The MEM was established in March 2018 in order to respond more effectively to crises like the Tianjin and Yibin explosions. With overall responsibility for safe chemical production and work environments, the MEM will provide a unified system focused on disaster prevention.