Might the U.S. see laws on chemicals being strengthened to European standards? Stephanie Hemphill of Minnesota Public Radio reports:

The law that governs chemicals in the U.S. is the Toxic Substances Control Act, written more than 15 years ago. It “grandfathered in” all the chemicals that were in commercial use in 1979. There’s no law requiring companies to provide data on those chemicals.

That leaves a big gap in our knowledge, according to Michael Wilson. He’s a researcher at the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of California Berkeley.

“About 95 or 96 percent of the chemicals in commercial circulation today, by volume, were those that were in circulation in 1979,” he says. “And so we have very little information on that big body of chemicals.”

Wilson recently wrote a report to the California legislature, urging the state to nudge businesses toward “green chemistry.” He says many firms would choose greener products if they had the information.

We’ll be watching this story incredibly closely. Any change to the TSCA would impact many small businesses and practically every medium- and large-sized manufacturing enterprise.

See the full article: MPR.

The lobby to have RU-486 banned is still going strong according to this recent press release:

An official of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) expressed continued support today for the “RU-486 Suspension and Review Act of 2005,” known as “Holly’s Law.” Deirdre A. McQuade, Director of Planning and Information at the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities addressed a congressional press conference sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, the bill’s author, and other supporters of the legislation.

“The Bishops’ Conference opposes every abortion as the taking of innocent human life,” said Ms. McQuade. “However, the RU-486 method compounds this offense by also threatening the lives, fertility, and well-being of healthy women.”

Calling Holly’s Law a “very modest bill,” Ms. McQuade called for a House vote at the earliest possible opportunity: “How long will Congress stand idle while more women suffer and die from RU-486? Mifeprex must come off the market now.”

See the full press release: Yahoo Business.

This news snippet about possible Prop 65 being extended to french fries and potato chips recently appeared in the San Jose Mercury News:

Superior Court Judge Wendell Mortimer Jr. told attorneys he wants to move forward with long-delayed Proposition 65 litigation that forces fast-food giants to warn about the potential cancer risks of fries and potato chips.

“It is time to proceed with these claims,” Mortimer wrote in a tentative decision lifting a stay in the matter. Industry lawyers wanted the cases delayed pending further studies by government regulators.

See the full article: San Jose Mercury News.

Might pressure from Consumer Reports change how ‘general purpose’ or ‘all-purpose’ cleaners are packaged?

No, they’re not energy drinks. They’re all-purpose cleaners that can be harmful if swallowed.

The problem is that such packaging may entice children to take a gulp. Furthermore, these cleaners do not have child-resistant caps, nor are they required to. And some labels lack crucial information, such as what to do in case of accidental ingestion or the phone number for poison control centers.

On store shelves, we found numerous such cleaners, such as Fabuloso by Colgate-Palmolive, Mistolin by Mistolin Caribe, and Festival by AlEn. Some store brand cleaners were similar in appearance.

The Poison Prevention Packaging Act requires child-resistant packaging if a product contains certain caustic or otherwise hazardous chemicals that these products apparently do not contain. Federal law also prohibits toxic formulations from being sold in packaging that looks like a food container. But a spokesperson for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission characterized such containers as “general purpose.” Since labels describe the products as cleaners, they comply with the law, the CPSC says.

The American Association of Poison Control Centers says that in 2004, the most recent year for which statistics are available, cleaning products were involved in nearly 125,000 poisonings of children younger than 6. And about 30 children under age 5 still die each year from unintentional poisonings. Data for all-purpose cleaners like those noted above were not available by brand, though we are aware of two accidental ingestions involving Fabuloso and one involving Mistolin reported to the CPSC by hospital emergency rooms. None of the three resulted in a death.

We’ll be watching this story to see if it spurs the CPSC to change their regulations on these cleaners.

See the full report: ConsumerReports.org.

Might we see warning labels required on some energy drinks in the future? An article by Reuters suggests this may be in the cards:

Energy drinks that promise to boost performance and rev up metabolism can contain three to four times as much caffeine as a typical soda, a new study shows.

The concern, researchers say, is that consumers who are vulnerable to the ill effects of caffeine — including children, pregnant women and people with cardiovascular disease — may unknowingly ingest large amounts.

Energy drinks like Red Bull, Red Devil and Sobe “No Fear” typically contain a mix of carbohydrates, B vitamins, amino acids and caffeine. Manufacturers claim the beverages boost physical performance, concentration, metabolism and a blue mood.

So it’s not surprising that energy drinks would contain large amounts of caffeine, said study co-author Dr. Bruce A. Goldberger of the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville.

But the actual caffeine dose might surprise some consumers, he told Reuters Health.

Given the danger of high caffeine intake to some people, energy drinks should be required to state their caffeine content clearly, Goldberger and his colleagues argue in their report, published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology.

“We believe that these products should be labeled,” Goldberger said, noting that in Europe, drinks with more than 150 milligrams (mg) of caffeine per liter must be marked as “high-caffeine.

We’ll be watching this story closely, as it impacts many Nexreg clients and our readers.

See the full article: Reuters U.K..

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has fined Grow More, Inc., of Gardena, Calif., $31,200 for the alleged sale and distribution of a misbranded antimicrobial disinfectant in violation of federal pesticide law.

The EPA cited Grow More, Inc. for selling and distributing “Naccosan Concentrate Cleaner,” a one-step pesticidal disinfectant designed for use in veterinary clinics and greenhouses to eliminate potentially harmful bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. EPA’s testing of Naccosan’s effectiveness determined that, contrary to the claims on the disinfectant’s label, Naccosan was ineffective against this microorganism.

Due to the Naccosan label’s false statement of its effectiveness, Grow More, Inc. sold and distributed a misbranded pesticide in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, which regulates the sale, distribution, and use of pesticides within the United States.

Source

Newsinferno.com reports on lead based jewelry which has already caused one fatality:

According to California’s Attorney General, Bill Lockyer, the “landmark settlement is a success story showing how Proposition 65, California’s premier right-to-know law, protects our families and communities from the health risks resulting from exposure to toxic chemicals in our environment. The power of the law is stimulating the costume jewelry industry to employ methods to reduce and eliminate lead from their products in order to avoid having to warn consumers about the health risks.”

According to the settlement, defendants must meet new standards for lead-free and low-lead jewelry no later than 2008 or have their sales halted in the state.

Companies that entered the settlement include Burlington Coat Factory, CBI Distributing, Claire’s Boutiques, Claire’s Stores, Express, Federated Department Stores, J.C. Penney, KMart, Macy’s West, Mervyn’s, Nordstrom, Ross, Sears, Target, and Toys R Us. Remaining as litigants are Wal-Mart, Jordache, Cornerstone Apparel (Papaya stores), the Gerson Company, and Royal Items.

The total fine equals 1.7 million dollars. Expect tougher new laws regarding the labeling and sale of products with lead in them, given the tragic death of a 4-year old child in Minnesota.

See the full article: Newsinferno.com.

(Washington, D.C. – March 22, 2006) Recent news reports of an analysis of EPA data have generated significant interest in toxic air pollution. EPA has not issued a new report; the data has been available on EPA’s Web site since Feb. 22.

The data in the second National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) is not a method for comparing one area of the country to another. Rather it is an important tool to guide further local, state and federal steps to cut toxic air pollution and build upon the significant emissions reductions achieved since 1990. It is a state-of-the-science screening tool that estimates cancer and other health risks from exposure to air toxics.

The United States has made significant progress in reducing air toxics from industry, fuels and vehicles, and indoor sources. Since the Clean Air Act was amended in 1990, EPA has issued 96 standards for 174 different types of industrial sources of air toxics, including chemical plants, oil refineries, aerospace manufacturers and steel mills. The agency also has issued regulations for 15 categories of smaller sources, such as dry cleaners, commercial sterilizers, secondary lead smelters and chromium electroplating facilities. Together, these standards are projected to reduce annual emissions of air toxics by about 1.7 million tons from 1990 levels when fully implemented. It is important to note that the NATA information was based on 1999 data. Thus it does not represent seven years of progress in air quality.

Source

SUMMARY: This final rule amends the requirements in the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) for the transportation of hazardous materials by aircraft. This final rule clarifies the applicability of part 175; clarifies the exceptions from regulation for operator equipment and supplies, special aircraft operations, and passengers and crewmembers; revises separation distances for the shipment of radioactive materials by cargo aircraft; and updates the regulations to comply with security requirements for explosive special permits. These changes are being made to finalize outstanding petitions for rulemaking, convert certain special permits into regulations, and promote international harmonization, where appropriate.

Source

A piece in the Concord monitor discusses the issue of warning labels on drugs to treat Parkinson’s disease:

Drug manufacturers say anecdotal reports from patients such as Kanuch do not constitute scientific evidence, but they say they have updated warning labels anyway. Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which sells Permax, a dopamine enhancer, said the matter is under litigation but it has told physicians: “As with other dopamine agonists, compulsive self-rewarding behavior (e.g., pathologic gambling) and libido increase have been reported in patients.”

Boehringer Ingelheim, which makes Mirapex, another dopamine booster, said it has toughened its warning label but said that company officials are still exploring the connection. Eli Lilly & Co, which used to sell Permax, said there is no scientific consensus on the issue and suggested that gambling problems may be linked to the increased accessibility of legalized gambling.

Still, a recent analysis headed by FDA scientist Ana Szarfman found a sharp increase in reports of pathological gambling among people taking dopamine agonists. The statistics from a federal adverse-events database are not conclusive, but FDA officials regularly mine the data to spot red flags.

Source: Concord Monitor.