The Chemical Watch Podcast: California’s new chemical laws

This week’s Chemical Watch News & Insight podcast from Enhesa dives into the European Commission's contentious plan to distinguish between consumer and industrial uses of PFAS, as well as the EU's plans to identify substances that are "critical" to the trade bloc's industrial competitiveness.Senior correspondent for Europe Clelia Oziel joins the podcast to discuss the Commission's plan to define consumer uses of PFAS and how that could shape the scope of the EU's upcoming PFAS restriction proposal.We also talk with our managing editor for Europe Leigh Stringer about the EU's Critical Chemicals Alliance and how its work to identify substances that are essential to Europe's most strategic sectors could affect the EU's broader chemicals management regime.Tune in to catch the full episode! And then come back to read all the latest developments in chemicals policy from Enhesa’s Chemical Watch News & Insight.Have a podcast idea or a comment to share? Let us know by emailing the editor at [email protected].

This week’s Podcast Short highlights stories covering TSCA PFAS reporting in the US, regulatory simplification in the EU, Canada's supreme court looking at a toxic listing for plastic items and more.In the US, the PFAS reporting window is due to start by the end of January, even as the EPA works to finalise a revision to narrow the scope of businesses that need to submit information under the regulation. That could leave thousands of companies in a position to make compliance decisions before knowing whether they might ultimately be exempt from the broad TSCA reporting rule.Meanwhile, in the EU, European Commission officials say regulatory simplification is necessary to make the trade bloc more competitive, while the European Parliament votes to approve the Chemicals Omnibus package to simplify rules covering cosmetics and the classification, labelling and packaging of chemicals.Other stories highlighted this week include:What companies doing business in Maine can learn from how regulators have thus far handled requests for exemptions from the state's law restricting PFAS in products;The Supreme Court of Canada agrees to hear an appeal of the government's order listing plastic manufactured items as 'toxic' under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA); andJapan considers adding controls for food contact materials (FCMs) made from rubber and paper.Tune in to hear more about our top stories from the last week and then visit Chemical Watch News & Insight to catch all the latest chemicals management news from around the globe. Have a podcast idea or a comment to share? Let us know by emailing the editor at [email protected]. 

This week’s Podcast Short highlights stories from the US, the EU, Asia and the business sector.In the US, state lawmakers and regulators are increasingly looking at ways to address microplastics, and recent actions in New Jersey and California could highlight the kinds of measures other states might look to adopt in the future.Meanwhile, in the world of finance, many investors increasingly see hazardous chemicals as a financial issue – not just an environmental or regulatory one. As a result, some in the sector are wondering whether carbon accounting and finance could also be applied to chemicals to better gauge the financial risks associated with hazardous substances.Other stories highlighted this week include:South Korea's proposed broad revision of its toy safety standards, with potential new or more stringent limits on multiple substances;the US EPA's plans to push back several compliance deadlines under its TSCA risk management rule for the solvent TCE;Maine's rejection of the latest three "currently unavoidable use (CUU)" submissions seeking exemptions from its law banning PFAS in various products; andEuropean NGOs' threat to sue cookware company Groupe SEB under France’s Duty of Vigilance law if the company does not come up with a plan to transition away from PFAS.Tune in to hear more about our top stories from the last week, and then visit Chemical Watch News & Insight to catch all the latest chemicals management news from around the globe.Have a podcast idea or a comment to share? Let us know by emailing the editor at [email protected].

This week’s Podcast Short highlights stories from Europe, North America, and the business sector.In Europe, some UK industry groups have given up hope that Defra will make changes to the UK REACH registration model and are instead taking their concerns over costs directly to the prime minister and Treasury Ministry.Meanwhile, in the US, the Fifth Circuit’s September ruling that nullified the EPA’s TSCA risk management rule for methylene chloride raises interesting questions about what happens when regulatory science collides with legal interpretation.Other stories highlighted this week include:A look at the contentious debate over defining “consumer use” under the EU’s forthcoming PFAS restriction;Canada sets out plans for developing regulations to define criteria for carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic (CMR) substances; andVF Corporation discusses why it is scrapping its goal to phase out ‘unwanted’ chemicals.Tune in to hear more about our top stories from the last week and then visit Chemical Watch News & Insight to catch all the latest chemicals management news from around the globe. Have a podcast idea or a comment to share? Let us know by emailing the editor at [email protected].

This week’s Chemical Watch News & Insight podcast from Enhesa looks at five new chemicals-related bills that were recently signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom.North America Deputy Editor Bobby DeMuro joins the podcast to talk about AB 2577 and the changes it makes to the Proposition 65 settlement process. He also discusses new ingredient disclosures for diapers under AB 1901, and marketing restrictions on certain UV sunscreens set out in AB 1744.Then we have North America reporter Charlie Christoffersen to walk us through two other recently signed bills: AB 1604, which bans BPA and other bisphenols from receipt paper and AB 1603, which requires California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) to track which pesticides contain intentionally added PFAS.Tune in to catch the full episode! And then come back to read all the latest developments in chemicals policy from Enhesa’s Chemical Watch News & Insight.Have a podcast idea or a comment to share? Let us know by emailing the editor at [email protected].

This week’s Podcast Short highlights new laws in California and lots of preliminary registrations under Turkey’s REACH-like chemicals regime.In California, Governor Gavin Newsom signed five chemicals-related bills into law, including measures that add requirements for Proposition 65 settlements and actions to track the use of PFAS-containing pesticides in the state.Meanwhile, in Turkey, the government received some 40,000 provisional registrations from companies under the KKDIK, the country’s chemicals management law.Other top stories discussed this week include: An in-depth look at what happens next with New Mexico’s now paused PFAS labelling scheme; China seeks proposals for for its 2027 cosmetics standards work programme; The UK rejects an authorisation request on the use of chromium trioxide in surface treatment; and Industry says EU PFAS restriction could disrupt continent’s fluoropolymer supply. Tune in to hear more about our top stories from the last week and then visit Chemical Watch News & Insight to catch all the latest chemicals management news from around the globe.Have a podcast idea or a comment to share? Let us know by emailing the editor at [email protected].

This week’s Podcast Short highlights stories developments out the EU, North America and Australia.The long-delayed draft proposal to restrict skin sensitisers in textiles could be on the horizon, as the European Commission has said it plans to publish the measure as soon as possible. In the US, legal experts talk to Chemical Watch News & Insight about the potential shock waves to the TSCA programme following the Fifth Circuit’s landmark ruling that annulled the EPA’s risk management rule for methylene chloride. Other top stories discussed this week include:Leaked documents from the EU include a methodology for identifying chemicals that are “critical” to the trade bloc’s industrial resilience;Australia’s government confirms that it will not introduce a new packaging regime for the country, but will look to strengthen existing requirements under a new Circular Economy Roadmap;Minnesota regulators say they anticipate a high level of interest in exemptions from the state’s coming PFAS ban and that they are working to develop a framework that can meet the expected high demand.Tune in to hear more about our top stories from the last week and then visit Chemical Watch News & Insight to catch all the latest chemicals management news from around the globe.Have a podcast idea or a comment to share? Let us know by emailing the editor at [email protected].

This week’s Podcast Short highlights two stories that look at a pair of big rulings from US federal courts, as well as other developments from the EU and China. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently vacated the EPA’s TSCA risk management rule for methylene chloride, addressing how the agency must evaluate and regulate existing chemicals under TSCA.  In a separate action, a federal district court blocked New Mexico from enforcing its upcoming PFAS labelling mandate while the case proceeds. The preliminary injunction gives the industry groups an early victory in their challenge to one of the country’s most sweeping state-level PFAS labelling schemes. Other top stories discussed include: the European Parliament approves legislation clarifying when EU member states can exempt defence-related activites from key chemicals laws; an analysis of China becoming increasingly active in GHS development; and modest demand for fast-track new chemical reviews under an EPA programme intended to speed reviews substances intended for data center projects. Tune in to hear about our top stories from the last week, and then visit Chemical Watch News & Insight to catch all the latest chemicals management news from around the globe.  Have a podcast idea or a comment to share? Let us know by emailing the editor at [email protected].

This week’s Podcast Short looks at three countries that recently took steps to advance their alignment with EU chemical laws, as well as recent announcements from Flexsys and Lanxess about potential alternatives to 6PPD. Moldova, Serbia and Turkey recently made changes to portions of their domestic chemical laws to align with the EU, as they work to advance their candidacy to join the trade bloc. In the latest business news, the rubber chemicals company Flexsys said it has two candidate chemicals that could potentially replace 6PPD as a stabilising agent in tyres.  Other top stories discussed include: ECHA’s Committee for Risk Assessment recommends propyl paraben be classified as category 1, endocrine disruptive for the environment; compliance efforts boost data for previously non-compliant REACH registration dossiers; the US EPA continues to churn out draft TSCA risk evaluations; and Vietnam looks to simplify administrative procedures under its chemicals law. Tune in to hear about our top stories from the last week, and then visit Chemical Watch News & Insight to catch all the latest chemicals management news from around the globe.  Have a podcast idea or a comment to share? Let us know by emailing the editor at [email protected].

This week’s Podcast Short looks at a provision in the recent US stopgap spending bill and the overlap of chemicals in Canada’s latest data call-in for chemicals.Topping the headlines this week is story from North America managing editor Kelly Franklin, who writes about Congress extending the EPA’s TSCA fee authority as part of the continuing resolution to keep the government funded into December, and what that extension means for possible amendments to the chemicals law.In Canada, regulators mandate that companies provide information on 200 chemicals, many of which are under regulatory scrutiny in other jurisdictions like the US and EU.Other top stories discussed include: A federal court in Oregon upholds the state’s extended producer responsibility law; California lawmakers approve several chemicals-related bills, covering PFAS in pesticides, bisphenols in receipt paper and more; Industry groups urge the European Commission to reconsider plans to add chemicals like BPA and lilial to the EU Prior Informed Consent Regulation; and The head of hazardous substances at New Zealand’s Environmental Protection Authority talks about how the agency plans to improve new chemical reviews.Tune in to hear about our top stories from the last week and then visit Chemical Watch News & Insight to catch all the latest chemicals management news from around the globe. Have a podcast idea or a comment to share? Let us know by emailing the editor at [email protected].