EPA's Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program Notice
Monday 17 June 2013 at 5:17 pm
The EPA announces the final second list of 109 chemicals identified for Tier 1 screening under the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP). The EDSP is established under section 408(p) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), which requires EPA to develop a chemical screening program using appropriate validated test systems and other scientifically relevant information to determine whether certain substances may have hormonal effects.
This final list includes pesticides, two PFCs, and three pharmaceuticals (erythromycin, nitroglycerin, and quinoline). The list also consists of an array of other chemicals ranging from those used for industrial manufacturing processes, as plasticizers, or in the production of pharmaceutical, personal care products, and toxic substances. Because this list of chemicals was selected on the basis of exposure potential only, it should neither be construed as a list of known or likely endocrine disruptors nor characterized as such.
U.N. officials and delegates say more than 120 nations agreed to tighter controls on several chemicals and hazardous waste, including a gradual ban on a flame retardant and some new export requirements for other substances. An effort to rein in use of construction material Chrysotile asbestos and a powerful herbicide, Paraquat, fell short at a two-week summit of delegates to three main international treaties. There was agreement, however, to phase-out the commonly used flame retardant hexabromocyclododecane, or HBCD, but exempted some uses in buildings.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is revising the references in its regulations to the maximum and minimum civil penalties for a knowing violation of the Federal hazardous material transportation law or a regulation, order, special permit, or approval issued under that law. As amended in the "Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act" (MAP-21), effective October 1, 2012, the maximum civil penalty for a knowing violation is now $75,000, except that the maximum civil penalty is $175,000 for a violation that results in death, serious illness, or severe injury to any person or substantial destruction of property. In addition, there is no longer a minimum civil penalty amount, except that the minimum civil penalty amount of $450 applies to a violation relating to training. Effective Date is April 17, 2013.
On April 13th at the Appalachian Mountain Club's Annual Meeting, Stephen McGreal, president of ChemOne Compliance, LLC, was presented with a certificate of completion for the forty-eight (48) peaks over 4000 feet in New Hampshire in the winter.
OSHA issued a non-mandatory technical amendment for the Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in the Laboratories Standard. The non-mandatory appendix is being updated to include the contents of the latest National Academy of Sciences publication entitled, "Prudent Practices in the Laboratory: Handling and Management of Chemical Hazards," 2011 edition. All revisions being made are minor and non-substantive. The effective date of this technical amendment to the standard is January 22, 2013.