Bloomberg on a possible Prop 65 lawsuit about bottled water:

Ten top-selling brands of bottled water contained a total of 38 pollutants including fertilizer, industrial chemicals, bacteria and the residue of drugs such as Tylenol, according to a report by the Environmental Working Group based in Washington, D.C. The bottled water showed an average of eight pollutants in each sample…

In three samples of Sam’s Choice purified drinking water sold at Wal-Mart stores near San Francisco, levels of a group of chemicals known as trihalomethanes exceeded state standards, the report said. These are byproducts of chlorine and other chemicals used to kill microbes and can cause cancer at high doses…

The Environmental Working Group notified Wal-Mart yesterday that it intended to sue the company for violating the terms of California’s Proposition 65, a measure passed by voters in 1986. The regulation requires businesses to notify consumers if products they sell contain significant amounts of chemicals known to cause harm.

Wal-Mart’s Frederick said she had no comment on the possible lawsuit.

Click on the above link for more information.

According to a recent report:

zech lawmakers Tuesday overrode a presidential veto of a law that puts the country’s chemical industry under tougher European Union rules…

The bill, originally passed by parliament in July, implements an EU directive that requires manufacturers and importers to register chemicals with the new Helsinki-based European Chemicals Agency…

Czech President Vaclav Klaus, a free-market proponent and outspoken EU critic, called the directive, also known as REACH, bureaucratic and bad for business.

Click on the link for more information.

From RSC.org:

A plan by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to overhaul its inventory of industrial chemicals could lead to a lot more paperwork for chemical firms, industry officials have warned.

The Chemical Substances Inventory, established under the 1976 American Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), lists all chemicals manufactured in the US or imported into the country, along with safety data. But only around 7,000 of the 83,000 chemicals currently listed are actually still in use, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC), a trade group representing North American chemical companies…

The inventory reset initiative is under the auspices of EPA’s Chemical Assessment and Management Program (ChAMP). Through the programme, the chemical industry will also be expected to provide health and safety information on inorganic high-production volume (HPV) chemicals – defined as substances with annual production or import volumes above 1 million pounds (454 metric tonnes).  The initiative will likely be voluntary, but the agency has warned that testing could be compulsory in the absence of ‘timely and responsible action’ by industry.

Click on the above link for more information.

Recently we discussed the 16 candidates for Very High Concern status under REACH.  In European Chemical Clampdown Reaches Across Atlantic Scientific American discusses the possible implications for U.S. companies:

Hundreds of chemicals likely to be identified by the European Union (E.U.) as “substances of very high concern” are produced throughout the U.S., sometimes in large quantities…

These dangerous chemicals have been identified via the E.U.’s 2007 Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) law, which requires the disclosure of all chemicals sold in the E.U. in quantities of more than one metric ton per year. As it stands, 16 chemicals, including three phthalates, are already on the REACH list as chemicals of concern. And in coming years, the REACH law will require that companies prove the safety of a given chemical before it is allowed to be sold; those chemicals deemed dangerous—or “substances of very high concern” due to associated human health risks—will only be sold with special governmental permission.

Of the 267 chemicals on the potential expanded REACH list compiled by the International Chemical Secretariat in Sweden, two are regulated in some form under U.S. law—asbestos and hexavalent chromium (chromium VI)—and only one third have even been tested by the EPA…

All told, the U.S. manufactures more than one billion pounds (455 million kilograms) of 14 potential REACH-listed chemicals, including two varieties of toluene; 85 more are made in quantities exceeding one million pounds (455,000 kilograms), like the phthalates which have already been regulated in some cases in the E.U.

BASF, Chemtura, Dow, DuPont and Equistar make the most of these suspect chemicals in the U.S., and Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas host operations that manufacture them. Some of the most commonly produced dangerous chemicals include benzene, formaldehyde, styrene, hexane and butadiene…

Another article: How Europe’s New Chemical Rules Affect U.S. discusses the possible impact of the ‘Substitute it Now’ or SIN List:

• SIN List chemicals are produced or imported in 37 states as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, at as many as 78 sites per state…
• The number of SIN List chemicals per state varies from 1 to 37.
• Eight states have at least a dozen SIN List chemicals: New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Ohio, New York, North Carolina, Kentucky and Michigan.
• In the United States, at least 85 SIN List chemicals are produced annually in amounts of one million or more pounds, and at least 14 exceed one billion pounds annually.
• At least 173 companies are producing or importing SIN List chemicals in the United States.
• Some companies are associated with many SIN List chemicals—as many as 21 per company.
• The five companies reporting making the most SIN List chemicals are Dow, DuPont, Chemtura, Equistar and BASF.
• Many SIN List chemicals are produced or imported by multiple companies at numerous sites—as many as 36 companies at 52 separate sites. The five chemicals with the most companies and sites are benzene, formaldehyde, styrene, hexane and 1,3-butadiene.

Click on the above links for more information.

As we mentioned in Health Canada Cracking Down on Non Compliant Labels and in CCCR Recalls Continue a number of products have been recalled for non-compliance with CCCR-2001 and the cosmetics regulations.  Recently two more products, both packaged in “pressurized containers” have been recalled, both for “lack[ing] the symbol and warnings required for potentially flammable and explosive products. The lack of labelling information including appropriate warnings could potentially result in misuse of this product and lead to serious injury.”

The products are:

• A tanning mist
• A hair spray

The full set of recalls – available here.

Position: Canadian Regulatory Assistant (Entry Level Position)

Nexreg is rapidly expanding and is looking to add members to our Canadian team in London, Ontario, Canada. Our ideal candidate is an intelligent, personable, highly motivated individual that is looking to begin a lucrative career in the regulatory compliance industry.

Location: London, ON, Canada.

Salary: Negotiable.

Hours: Either full or part-time.

Primary Duties:

• Assist regulatory consultants with authoring Canadian and/or Canadian/U.S.compliant MSDSs using Nexreg’s proprietary MSDS authoring system.
• Assist regulatory consultants with authoring Canadian compliant product labels for the industrial, consumer chemical, and cosmetics markets.

Qualifications:

• This is an entry level position – no experience is necessary.
• A minimum of a Bachelor degree in a science related field is required.
• Experience with Microsoft Office, particularly Word and Excel required.
• Knowledge of WHMIS an asset, but not required.
• Second-language ability an asset, but not required.

Nexreg offers a highly competitive salary with the potential for significant career advancement. If interested, please e-mail cover letter and current resume ATTN: Jeff Burns, Canadian Regulatory Manager to info@nexreg.com.

Consulting firm Bain and Company has a fascinating 5 minute presentation on how to survive the financial crisis.  The presentation is available here.

Of particular interest is one of their points on crisis management – that companies can’t afford sacred cows.  Is regulatory compliance one of the sacred cows in your organization?  If so, you may want to consider outsourcing; our experience is that companies can save up to 60% by outsourcing the regulatory compliance tasks while achieving similar if not higher levels of compliance.

Nexreg is giving a presentation at the Southern Aerosol Technical Association‘s annual conference.  Topic of the presentation – Canadian compliance, including issues such as CCCR-2001 and proposed VOC regulations.  For anyone who is interested a copy of the slides is available here.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: Nexreg, REACH Compliance, GHS Consulting.

As we mentioned in Health Canada Cracking Down on Non Compliant Labels a number of products have been recalled for non-compliance with CCCR-2001 and the cosmetics regulations.  We have identified 14 products that have been recalled for label violations this year:

• Sep. 2008: Spa chemicals (lack of child proof cap)
• Sep. 2008: Paint solvent (lack of child proof cap)
• Sep. 2008: Film barrier lubricant (flame projection too long)
• Sep. 2008: Stainless steel polish aerosol (flammability)
• Sep. 2008: Carburetor cleaner (flame projection too long)
• Sep. 2008: Deodorant (flammability)
• Sep. 2008: Grout (lack of child proof cap)
• Aug. 2008: Spray truck bed coating (flame projection too long)
• Aug. 2008: Aerosol engine cleaners (flammability)
• Jul. 2008: Spray foundation (flammability)
• Jul. 2008: All purpose cleaner (flammability)
• Jul. 2008: Aerosol hair product (flammability)
• May 2008: Home fragrances (flammability)
• Apr 2008: Leather cleaner (child proof cap)

If you are have any doubts about the compliancy of your chemical products, please do not hesitate to contact us. More information about our label review services can be found here:

• Canadian Consumer Label Review
• Canadian Industrial Label Review
• Canadian Cosmetic Product Label Review

We can be contacted at:

Nexreg Toll Free: 1-866-361-3032
E-mail:info@nexreg.com