All Things Chemical

On June 25, 2025, B&C, along with the Environmental Law Institute and the George Washington University Milken Institute of Public Health, sponsored the all-day virtual conference, TSCA Reform -- Nine Years Later. The conference was hugely successful and almost 1,000 people registered for it. The quality of the discussion, the caliber of the participants, and the timeliness of the content motivated us to repurpose the substantive sessions to enable our podcast audience to listen to the sessions in this venue. The topic of this podcast is the panel discussion on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) risk evaluation process under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg). The panel discussed various aspects of EPA's risk evaluation of chemical substances under Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 6. The panel experts touch upon crucially important issues, including EPA's reconsideration of the risk framework rule and the legal challenge to it, EPA's pivot away from the whole chemical approach, the incorporation of cumulative risk assessment (CRA) approaches, and much, much more. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2025 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

On June 25, 2025, B&C, along with the Environmental Law Institute and the George Washington University Milken Institute of Public Health, sponsored an all-day virtual conference, TSCA Reform -- Nine Years Later. The conference was hugely successful and almost 1,000 people registered for it. The quality of the discussion, the caliber of the participants, and the timeliness of the content inspired us to re-broadcast the discussion to our podcast audience. This panel discusses the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) authority under Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 6 to manage chemical risks that EPA has determined to be unreasonable and the risk management options EPA considers to manage those risks. Panelists address how EPA manages workplace risks, enforcement mechanisms for risk management restrictions, whether EPA's risk management rulemakings are over or under addressing risks deemed unreasonable, and the legal challenges underway for all five risk management rules. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2025 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

This week, I sat down with Lisa R. Burchi, Of Counsel to Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. and resident expert on Proposition 65, among many other chemical laws. Lisa explains why businesses doing business in California need to know about the latest version of the so-called "short form" warning requirements that will be fully phased in by 2028. That may sound like a long way off, but it is not. We also discuss the complicated history of the short form label changes, some of the business considerations pertinent to the selection of the short form label of which stakeholders should be aware, and we cover the significant consequences of non-compliance with the warning requirements. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2025 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

This week, I discuss with my colleague, Kelly N. Garson, a Senior Associate here at B&C and Regulatory Consultant for The Acta Group (Acta®), B&C's consulting affiliate, the implications of the demise of Chevron deference, especially as it relates to Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) litigation. We discuss what Chevron deference is, other types of deference that are still very much a part of judicial review, and how Chevron's elimination could impact the implementation of the 2016 amendments to TSCA given the many issues in dispute now pending before many federal circuit courts. Resources: Lynn L. Bergeson, Kelly N. Garson, "Loper Bright and TSCA: Will the demise of Chevron matter?," Chemical Watch, July 22, 2024. Environmental Defense Fund v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 23-1166 (D.C. Cir. Dec. 20, 2024). ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2025 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

This week, I was pleased to welcome back to the studio Jim Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant at B&C and its consulting affiliate, The Acta Group (Acta®), to discuss the first six months of the Trump Administration. We have all been trying to take in and process the many Executive Orders, Presidential Directives, and other developments of all sorts coming out of the White House at a head-spinning pace, and assess their  impacts on the industrial and agricultural chemical community and federal workforce. Jim is a keen observer of Presidential and executive level administrative action, having served as the Assistant Administrator of Toxics at The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and in other senior EPA leadership positions. We discuss Presidential actions, their impact on the EPA workforce, EPA actions to date, and a bit about the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Report's "Make Our Children Healthy Again" Assessment and its impact on the pesticide community. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2025 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

This week, I discuss with Patricia Underwood, Ph.D., DABT, MBA, Chief Toxicologist, Principal Director – Chemical and Material Risk Management, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense, and my colleague, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry for B&C and The Acta Group (Acta®), our consulting affiliate, the U.S. Department of Defense's (DOD) recent Request for Information (RFI) on chemicals undergoing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) review as part of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 6 risk evaluation process. DOD has a significant need for certain chemicals but admittedly has no tracking system for upstream applications of chemicals to understand the implications of EPA's identification of high priority substances and risk evaluation of them under TSCA Section 6. Dr. Underwood and Dr. Engler discuss the recent RFI issued by DOD to provide this line of sight and they reflect upon the growing importance of supply chain transparency in DOD applications and in the private sector as a whole. Chemical and Material Risk Management Program (CMRMP) Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Market Analysis ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2025 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

Hello, this is Lynn Bergeson. As many of our listeners may know, we here at Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. recently published a book through the American Bar Association's Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, titled Chemical Product Law and Supply: A Guide to New TSCA. Recently, my ABA colleague Amy Edwards, a partner at Holland & Knight LLP, and I recorded a podcast to discuss the book—why we wrote it, and why chemical stakeholders of all kinds—especially business professionals, non-TSCA experts, and those involved in due diligence and commercial transactions—should read it. The podcast was a lot of fun and a great listen. I hope you enjoy the episode and, of course, read our book. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2025 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

This week, I discuss with my colleagues, Carla N. Hutton, Senior Regulatory Analyst for B&C, and Dr. Richard E. Engler, Director of Chemistry for B&C and The Acta Group (Acta®), our consulting affiliate, the ever-expanding and complicated scope of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulation in the United States. We convened a webinar on this topic in mid-May and attracted a record-breaking 1000+ registrants, suggesting to us that PFAS continues to be a topic of enormous interest. In our discussion, Carla, Rich, and I address the federal Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reporting obligation and the diverse constellation of state-specific reporting and product restrictions that are mushrooming around the country. Keeping up with these restrictions is important and increasingly diverse and thus challenging to track and with which to comply. Our hope is our discussion will focus our listeners on this important, sprawling topic and offer some tips to help manage it. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2025 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Karyn Schmidt, now a principal at Squire Patton Boggs in its Public Policy practice, after spending 25 years at the American Chemistry Council (ACC). For the many members in the chemical community who know Karyn, her deep understanding of chemical law and policy will serve the firm's clients well. We discuss Karyn's transition to private practice, her work at ACC, and Karyn's thoughts on what is in store for chemical stakeholders now and the foreseeable future. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2025 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Melissa Owen, attorney/owner of Ambiente Legal, about the significant regulatory developments regarding chemical registration in Latin America, including Latin American Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) initiatives and the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). We discuss Brazil REACH, which requires by law the government to have an implementing regulation issued by May 2025, Colombia REACH, also subject to a fast-approaching May 2025 deadline, and other Latin American REACH and GHS deadlines. We also discuss the August 2025 deadline in Chile for the notification of chemicals included in professional and consumer products, and much more regarding developments in countries south of our border. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2025 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Lioba Oerter, Director of Expert Services, 3E Expert Service Processing Centre (ESPC), and Karin F. Baron, Director of Hazard Communication and International Registration Strategy at B&C and our consulting affiliate, The Acta Group, about the significant changes to product classification, labeling, and packaging (CLP) in the European Union (EU). Lioba and I shared a podium recently and found we also have a shared belief that these forthcoming CLP changes will have a profound commercial impact on product classification, labeling, and packaging globally and that with everything going on in the world these days, this impact may be a bit underappreciated. Karin and I spoke about these matters last year, and I welcomed an opportunity to consider them again with Karin and Lioba in light of the new CLP developments as of December 2024. Karin, Lioba, and I discuss the CLP changes, including those recently made, why they came to be, what they mean for commercial operations, and conclude with some tips on staying ahead of this coming storm. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2025 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

This week, I discuss with my colleagues, Dr. Richard E. Engler, Director of Chemistry for B&C and The Acta Group (Acta®), our consulting affiliate, and Kelly N. Garson, Senior Associate for B&C and Acta, our recently released book, titled Chemical Product Law and Supply Chain Stewardship: A Guide to New TSCA, published by the American Bar Association. As listeners know, as a law firm and consulting firm, we do a lot of work under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and have gained a significant amount of hands-on practical knowledge about the law, the 2016 Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act amendments to it, and the transformative impact these amendments have had on business transactions. We set out a year or so ago to write a book that explains TSCA through a business transactions lens. Of course, we explain the law, but we really write as business counselors to enable the regulated community -- importers, chemical producers, finished product manufacturers, distributors, and chemical users -- to be TSCA aware. The law has become, whether you like it or not, an important factor in virtually every business decision. My conversation today with Kelly and Rich focuses on several of their chapters in the book, and they explain how they approached writing a book about a law from the perspective of the business community. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2025 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

This week, I discuss Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) developments with my colleague, Dr. Richard E. Engler, Director of Chemistry for B&C and The Acta Group (Acta®), our consulting affiliate. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) implementation of the 2016 Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act amendments has been a dynamic, evolving, and unpredictable work in progress for almost nine years. Given the new Administration, we are at a most uncertain time because of the lack of clarity regarding what the new leaders at the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) will do to address new chemical review concerns, risk evaluation under TSCA Section 6, and risk management actions resulting from those evaluations. As listeners know, all final risk management rules are being challenged and the disposition of those cases is the subject of considerable speculation. So also is OCSPP's consideration of not yet final risk evaluations and how the new Administration intends to interpret TSCA Section 6 in general. There are growing calls for legislative action to remedy some of Lautenberg's deficits, particularly in the area of new chemicals, another important variable that is destabilizing the status quo. Rich and I discuss these topics and many others. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2025 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

This week, I sat down with Jim Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant at B&C and its consulting affiliate, The Acta Group (Acta®), to discuss the early days of the new Administration, what changes we can expect at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) generally, and key issues the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) can be expected to tackle. Jim's unique perspective as a former Assistant Administrator of what is now called the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) and keen understanding of the pesticide world always make for a wonderful and insightful conversation. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2025 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

This week I discuss with my colleague, Mark Washko, Senior Government Affairs Advisor for B&C and The Acta Group, our consulting affiliate, the new 119th Congress and what might be key legislative actions our listeners should look for. The new Congress reflects many new members, new staffs, and a new Republican majority in both chambers. What can we expect? Will Congressional Review Act measures un-do key Biden initiatives? What might we expect in terms of a budget reconciliation package? These issues and a whole lot more are the subject of my conversation with Mark. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2025 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved