Industry 'very concerned' about proposed reform of Prop 65 warning Modified approach could still bring 'increased frivolous litigation', says coaliti  ข่าวโดย..Su 3 February 2016 / A revised proposal from California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, to modify the “clear and reasonable warning” provisions under Proposition 65, continues to raise concern among industry groups and NGOs alike, according to recently published comments. Oehha released a revised proposal, in November, intended to further the “right to know” provisions within Prop 65. This replaced a January 2015 proposal, but the agency says that the new release “takes into account” the comments that had been submitted previously.

https://chemicalwatch.com/44848/industry-very-concerned-about-proposed-reform-of-prop-65-warning

Industry targets recycling for marine debris  ข่าวโดย..Su January 26, 2016 By GAYLE S. PUTRICH
Washington - A new report claims that by the middle of this century there will more plastic than fish, by weight, in the world’s oceans. But from the plastics industry perspective, it’s really revenue swimming away.
The World Economic Forum/Ellen MacArthur Foundation study, “The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics,” released at WEF’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, says that while delivering many benefits, “the current plastics economy has drawbacks that are becoming more apparent by the day.”
The report’s projections estimate that “by 2050 oceans are expected to contain more plastics than fish [by weight], and the entire plastics industry will consume 20 percent of total oil production and 15 percent of the annual carbon budget. In this context, an opportunity beckons for the plastics value chain to deliver better system-wide economic and environmental outcomes, while continuing to harness the benefits of plastic packaging.”

http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20160126/NEWS/160129852/industry-targets-recycling-for-marine-debris#utm_medium=email&utm_source=pn-recycling&utm_campaign=pn-recycling-20160203&email_recycle

Chemists take stock of chemical auditing and management  ข่าวโดย..Su 11 January 2016; Matthew Gunthe - University researchers have no doubt ordered a solvent from their chemical stores only to find an unused bottle lying in a cupboard. Now, groups of chemists around the UK are introducing computerised management platforms to tap into these wasted chemical resources and monitor the journey reagents take from procurement to disposal. And their efforts are already saving cash-strapped departments thousands of pounds a year.

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2016/01/online-chemical-auditing-database-management-quartzy

PFAS found at high levels in consumer products and FCMs : German and Chinese studies find perfluorinated substances, warn of high exposures  ข่าวโดย..Su 4 February 2016, Two recent studies have highlighted high levels of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in consumer products and food contact materials. They are likely to be a significant source of global human exposure to these persistent and potentially toxic compounds. The first paper measured the levels of perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs), perfluorinated sulfonic acids (PFSAs) and fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) in household products, purchased in Germany in 2010. It was published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research by five scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute.

https://chemicalwatch.com/44863/pfas-found-at-high-levels-in-consumer-products-and-fcms

Snow soaks up pollutants from engine exhausts  ข่าวโดย..Su 14 January 2016; Florence Greatrix - Scientists in Canada have shown that snow acts as a sink for nanosized particles and certain organic constituents from car exhausts. Air pollution is recognised as a leading environmental driver of cancer deaths, which makes the fate of these toxic and carcinogenic aerosols from car exhausts important for informing changes in emissions and air quality regulations, and technologies, in countries with cold winters.
http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2016/01/snow-car-exhaust-pollutant-air-quality-nanoparticles

Deadly accident sounds alarm for safety in Chinese labs  ข่าวโดย..Su 18 January 2016; Hepeng Jia - The lab blast that killed one postdoc researcher at Tsinghua University in late December has raised widespread safety concerns among Chinese chemists. They say a systematic reshuffle on lab safety is needed at Chinese research institutions. ‘The bloody accident reflects a systematic negligence of safety in our labs,’ says Luo Min, a chemistry professor at Ningxia University located in the north-western Chinese city of Yinchuan.
http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2016/01/tsinghua-university-postdoc-death-accident-chinese-lab-safety

New law on legal highs approved in UK  ข่าวโดย..Su 1 February 2016; Emma Stoye - The UK government’s Psychoactive Substances Act – a ‘blanket ban’ on New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) – has received Royal Assent, or formal approval from the queen, and is due to come into effect on 6 April this year. The ban covers ‘any substance intended for human consumption that is capable of producing a psychoactive effect’. Those caught producing or supplying such drugs face a maximum prison sentence of seven years. The measures are being introduced to tackle the rapid production of new ‘legal highs’ which are not covered by existing legislation.
http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2016/02/psychoactive-substances-legal-highs-uk-law-approved

Echa applies new rules to biocidal substance approval process Guidance to apply after six months; adding data during dossier review permitted  ข่าวโดย..Su 1 February 2016 / ECHA will permit applicants to introduce new data during the peer review process for a biocidal active substance approval. And it has decided that future guidance on the active substance approval process will apply six months after the date of its publication.

https://chemicalwatch.com/44804/echa-applies-new-rules-to-biocidal-substance-approval-process

Warning: Methylisothiazolinone Use Has Limits  ข่าวโดย..Su Jan 20, 2016 | Contact Author | By: Nicole Urbanowicz - The Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) has issued a Final Opinion saying its safety concerns remain with certain levels and usages of methylisothiazolinone (MI), sensitization only, in cosmetic products. As a follow up to earlier concerns raised in SCCS Opinion SCCS/1521/13 (12 December 2013 with revision 27 March 2014), the SCCS noted recently provided data "does not support the safe use of MI as a preservative in rinse-off cosmetic products up to a concentration limit of 100 ppm from the view of induction of contact allergy."

See more at: http://www.cosmeticsandtoiletries.com/regulatory/region/europe/Warning-Methylisothiazolinone-Has-Limits---365950211.html?utm_source=newsletter-html&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CT+E-Newsletter+02-01-2016#sthash.o90zdsXt.dpuf

Registrants of the same substance must be part of the same registration  ข่าวโดย..Su ECHA/NA/16/02 - The new Implementing Regulation adopted by the European Commission requires ECHA to make sure that all companies registering the same substance are part of the same registration. To implement this requirement, the dossier submission tool REACH-IT is being adapted to reject submissions outside of a joint registration and is, therefore, closed. The tool will re-open on 27 January at 10:00 EET.

Helsinki, 25 January 2016 – As of 27 January, you will no longer be able to submit a registration dossier separately if a registration for the same substance already exists. Similarly, you will not be able to update your registration, which has been submitted individually, if another registration for the same substance exists in REACH-IT.
If your registration is not in line with the joint submission obligation, it will be rejected at the ‘business rules' step of your REACH-IT submission and you will be instructed to co-operate with the existing registrants of the same substance and submit jointly. This means that you need to discuss with other companies about substance sameness, share data and costs with them and, subsequently, submit your registration as part of a joint submission. ECHA guidance documents and other support material reflecting the changes are under revision.

http://echa.europa.eu/view-article/-/journal_content/title/registrants-of-the-same-substance-must-be-part-of-the-same-registration

Notification deadline approaching following the redefinition of in situ generated active substances  ข่าวโดย..Su ECHA/NI/16/04 - Last year, the Member State competent authorities redefined all in situ generated active substances in the Review Programme. Notifications for alternative precursors or systems for in situ generation have to be submitted by 27 April 2016.
Helsinki, 25 January 2016 – The notifications may also need to be submitted for the active substance as originally defined before the redefinition (i.e. not in situ generated). An example where notifying such a manufactured active substance may be appropriate is sulphur dioxide. It is now re-defined as "sulphur dioxide generated from sulphur by combustion". This means that it is no longer supported as an active substance on its own. However, sulphur dioxide is also supplied and used on its own as an active substance without being generated in situ. To take over the participant's role for sulphur dioxide as an active substance, a notification has to be submitted by 27 April 2016.
The same may apply to other redefined active substances. A clarifying note has now been added to the overview of "In situ active substance/precursor-combinations open for notification" available on ECHA's website.

http://echa.europa.eu/view-article/-/journal_content/title/notification-deadline-approaching-following-the-redefinition-of-in-situ-generated-active-substances

Methylisothiazolinone Use Has Limits  ข่าวโดย..Su Jan 20, 2016 - Contact Author By: Nicole Urbanowicz - The Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) has issued a Final Opinion saying its safety concerns remain with certain levels and usages of methylisothiazolinone (MI), sensitization only, in cosmetic products. As a follow up to earlier concerns raised in SCCS Opinion SCCS/1521/13 (12 December 2013 with revision 27 March 2014), the SCCS noted recently provided data "does not support the safe use of MI as a preservative in rinse-off cosmetic products up to a concentration limit of 100 ppm from the view of induction of contact allergy."

- See more at: http://www.cosmeticsandtoiletries.com/regulatory/region/europe/Warning-Methylisothiazolinone-Has-Limits---365950211.html?utm_source=newsletter-html&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CT+E-Newsletter+01-25-2016#sthash.C867zYoF.dpuf

ECHA shortlists substances for possible regulatory action  ข่าวโดย..Su ECHA/NA/16/03 - The Agency has selected nearly 300 substances from REACH registrations for further scrutiny by the Member State competent authorities. The competent authorities will carry out a manual examination of the dossiers they prioritise to decide whether there is a need for regulatory action.
Helsinki, 27 January 2016 – The shortlisted substances are registered by nearly 1 500 companies in 2 500 registration dossiers. The selection is based on an automated IT screening focusing on substances with potential carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction (CMR), persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT), endocrine-disrupting, sensitising or specific target organ toxicity following repeated exposure (STOT RE) properties. A subset of substances are then further prioritised based on uses that are likely to lead to exposure to humans or release to the environment. The Member State competent authorities will then prioritise substances for their manual examination.
Companies affected have received or are about to receive a letter from ECHA informing them of the potential examination of their registrations. They are invited to update their dossiers to address any shortcomings as soon as possible. Up-to-date information will help the Member State authorities better assess whether the concern indicated by the screening is confirmed, and whether regulatory action is still needed.
If the Member States or ECHA take actions on a substance, this information will be published on the Agency's website, for example, in the list of substances potentially subject to compliance checks, the Registry of Intentions (RoI), the draft Community rolling action plan for substance evaluation, and the the Public Activities Coordination Tool (PACT), which lists substances under hazard assessment or risk management option analysis. Companies can check the status of their substance through the Search for chemicals available on ECHA's homepage.

http://echa.europa.eu/view-article/-/journal_content/title/echa-shortlists-substances-for-possible-regulatory-acti-1

REACH-IT is back up – ECHA clarifies criteria for ‘one substance, one registration'  ข่าวโดย..Su ECHA/NI/16/05 - The dossier submission tool, REACH-IT, is now back up following a maintenance break to implement the requirements of the new Implementing Regulation on joint submission of data and data sharing. ECHA also clarifies the criteria for submitting initial registrations and updates.
Helsinki, 27 January 2016 – The implementing regulation gives ECHA the mandate to make sure that all registrants of the same substance are part of one joint registration. However, with initial registrations, the criteria for submitting depend on the existing context: for example, whether other joint or individual submissions already exist and whether they are full or intermediate dossiers. These criteria and how ECHA applies them are available in the PDF document below.
If you need to update your dossier, ECHA will, for the time being, continue to accept requested updates on individual dossiers. Requested updates follow a formal ECHA decision on, for example, technical completeness checks, compliance checks or confidentiality claim assessments. More support material on how ECHA plans to carry out the requirements set in the implementing regulation will be available in the near future.

http://echa.europa.eu/view-article/-/journal_content/title/reach-it-is-back-up-echa-clarifies-criteria-for-one-substance-one-registration

New guidance from the UK Chemicals Stakeholder Forum (UKCSF)  ข่าวโดย..Su The UK Chemicals Stakeholder Forum (UKCSF) has recently published new business-friendly guidance on the REACH 2018 registration deadline. This guide draws on the experience of the wide range of CSF members from industry. The CSF has also updated their REACH authorisation guidance, which was first published in April 2014.
The ‘Forum Guidance for SMEs and Downstream Users on the REACH 2018 Registration Deadline’ (along with an explanatory note) aims to raise awareness of the deadline and to help companies consider what they have to do. In particular in preparing and submitting dossiers to ECHA. It is also aimed at downstream users who need to assess the potential for disruption of their supply chains if substances which they depend on are not registered. The ‘updated Forum Guidance for SMEs and Downstream Users on REACH Authorisation’ provides an introduction to REACH authorisation, what it might mean for businesses and where they can go to find out further information and get help. Both sets of guidance are available as publications on the UKCSF website under the ‘Publications’ section. Further details on the role of the UKCSF can also be found on its website.

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/uk-chemicals-stakeholder-forum

New guidelines for characterising hydrocarbon solvent substances  ข่าวโดย..Su The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published new guidance for characterising hydrocarbon solvents for assessment purposes. It aims to present a harmonised method for the characterisation of this group of UVCB substances (UVCBs: substances of Unknown or Variable composition, Complex reaction products or Biological materials). The guidance was developed through an OECD task force that included ECHA and the Hydrocarbon Solvents Producers Association (HSPA)...

OECD document ---> http://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=env/jm/mono(2015)52&doclanguage=en

Survey finds laboratory capacity available for conducting EOGRTS  ข่าวโดย..Su ECHA commissioned a study on global laboratory capacities to conduct extended one-generation reproductive toxicity studies (EOGRTS).
Helsinki, 13 January 2015 - In total, 22 laboratories were identified as capable to conduct these studies. It is estimated that for 2016, 2018 and 2020, these laboratories could deliver the following ranges of EOGRTS with basic study design: 88-114, 94-122 and 101-131 respectively. Regarding full study designs, the ranges are 44-57, 49-63 and 61-79 for the respective years.
Compared with a similar study in 2012, the global laboratory capacity to conduct EOGRTS has increased. The study was triggered by the recent change in the REACH information requirements where EOGRTS replaced the previous two-generation reproductive toxicity study....

http://echa.europa.eu/view-article/-/journal_content/title/survey-finds-laboratory-capacity-available-for-conducting-eogrts

REACH data-sharing principles clarified  ข่าวโดย..Su A new implementing regulation adopted by the European Commission defines more clearly what the terms ‘fair, transparent and non-discriminatory' mean for data sharing in the REACH Regulation. It also gives ECHA the mandate to make sure that all registrants of the same substance are part of one joint registration. The regulation is applicable as of 26 January 2016...

http://echa.europa.eu/view-article/-/journal_content/title/reach-data-sharing-principles-clarified

Compliance checks in 2015 – focus on substances that matter the most  ข่าวโดย..Su In 2015, ECHA started applying its new compliance check strategy: it focused on checking the dossiers of substances that matter the most for the protection of people and the environment.
Helsinki, 13 January 2016 - This meant high-tonnage registration dossiers with important data gaps and with a high potential for worker, consumer or environmental exposure. ECHA checked the dossiers of 107 high priority substances for compliance. In most cases, the Agency drafted a decision requesting the registrant for the missing information. More statistics will follow in the annual evaluation report that will be published in February 2016....

http://echa.europa.eu/view-article/-/journal_content/title/compliance-checks-in-2015-focus-on-substances-that-matter-the-most

Microbeads to be phased out in US starting in 2017  ข่าวโดย..Su December 29, 2015 By GAYLE S. PUTRICH - President Barack Obama’s signature has made the phase-in of federal ban on plastic microbeads official starting in 2017.

The new law bans the U.S. manufacture of personal-care products such soaps, body washes, toothpaste and similar products from containing microbeads, which are usually made of polyethylene, as of July 1, 2017, and the sale of products containing microbeads, imported or domestic, as of July 1, 2019. It also defines “microbead” as “any solid plastic particle that is less than 5 millimeters in size.”
Though nine states have already passed their own microbead bans, the federal law preempts them and is stricter than the existing state and county laws, with an earlier effective date. It also leaves no loophole for biodegradable plastics.
The tiny plastic particles have only become popular as gentle, allergen-free exfoliators in the last decade or so — though it turns out the PE pieces are small enough to slip through municipal water treatment facilities. The rush to get microbeads out of personal care products began in 2013, when a study by California-based environmental group 5 Gyres reported finding 600,000 microbeads per square kilometer (0.39 square mile) in Lake Erie water samples....

http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20151229/NEWS/151229895/microbeads-to-be-phased-out-in-us-starting-in-2017#utm_medium=email&utm_source=pn-sustain&utm_campaign=pn-sustain-20151230&email_sustain