Spray Technology and Marketing magazine has an informative article writen by Health Canada on the subject of CCCR regulations.  This in particular caught our eye:

Enforcement: Audit

In order to verify that the classification process was completed, Health Canada’s Product Safety Officers will routinely monitor the marketplace for chemical products.  An officer may, at any time under suspicion of violation, contact the responsible company to arrange a meeting (an “audit”) to verify all records associated with the classification of the product.

For the audit to run smoothly, Health Canada recommends that all chemical product manufacturers, importers and distributors read and fill out the “Guide to Consumer Chemical Product Assessment” ( http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs/indust/hpa-pcc/guide-evaluation-eng.php ).  This guide provides a step-by-step explanation of the classification and audit processes, and includes checklists of the required information to facilitate record-keeping.

Click on the above link for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: Nexreg, CCCR Consumer Label Reviews, WHMIS MSDS Authoring.

From Paint.org:

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski on July 23 signed into law NPCA/FSCT-sponsored post-consumer paint stewardship pilot legislation. The bill, House Bill 3037, provides for the establishment of a manufacturer/producer-managed product stewardship program, as framed by NPCA/FSCT. Passage of the law is a major victory for NPCA/FSCT, culminating more than five years’ effort promoting a model solution for post-consumer paint management…

House Bill 3037 calls for the creation of a paint stewardship pilot program to develop a structure for collecting, transporting and processing – including re-blending – post consumer paint in an environmentally sound fashion.

Click on the above link for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: OSHA MSDS Authoring, CPSC Consumer Label Reviews, Nexreg.

From The Daily Herald:

But Illinois’ new regulations should make those guidelines less important. Low VOC paints are now mandated, with a few exceptions, and all of the large paint companies (Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore and Pittsburgh Paints) have opted to also offer paints totally free of VOCs…

“California set the standard and nine states in the Northeast went for the new regulations three years ago. Now Illinois, Indiana and Michigan have signed on and others are planning on doing it, too,” Hester said.

The new regulations mandate that VOC emissions in paint be kept under the 150 mark, but paints totally free of VOCs are taking it even a step further.

Click on the above link for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: OSHA MSDS Authoring, CPSC Consumer Label Reviews, Nexreg.

From The Sacramento Bee:

The $28 billion styrene industry has filed a lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court to block California environmental officials from listing the product as a cause of cancer and birth defects…

The spokesman, Joe Walker, said the Proposition 65 warning “would foster the potential for alarmist reports over nothing” and “be very damaging for no good reason because styrene has been used safely for many, many years in thousands and thousands of products.”

According to court papers filed by the state, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2002 concluded that styrene is “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration said exposure to the substance “may involve” maladies such as “headache, fatigue, dizziness, confusion, drowsiness, malaise, difficulty in concentrating, and a feeling of intoxication.”

Click on the above link for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: OSHA MSDS Authoring, CPSC Consumer Label Reviews, Nexreg.

From ICIS.com:

In 1998, Directive 98/8/EC on the market placement of biocidal products was adopted, with the member states having to transpose the rules by May 14, 2000 into national law.

The aim of the BPD is to harmonize the market for biocidal products and their active substances, while providing a high level of protection for humans, animals and the environment…

However, following extension after extension of deadlines due to the immense work required to gain approvals, by the start of 2009, only a limited number of biocides had been approved.

The latest step in the regulatory saga is that on June 12, the European Commission adopted a proposal, COM(2009)267, for a regulation concerning the market placing and use of biocidal products. This proposed Regulation, which would enter into force on January 1, 2013, would extend the regulatory scope to include articles and materials treated with biocidal products, including furniture and textiles.

One key challenge in the entire process is the cost of the dossier preparation – ­estimated at up to €2m ($2.8m) – which has driven some organizations to join together to create task forces to generate the dossier and support the product.

For more information, click on the above link.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: Nexreg, REACH Compliance, EU SDS Authoring.

A short piece from MarineLog:

Other SOLAS amendments adopted, with an expected entry into force date of January 1, 2011, include an amendment to prohibit all new installations of asbestos on board ships, without exceptions; and an amendment to require material safety data sheets (MSDS) to be provided for ships carrying oil or oil fuel, prior to the loading of such oil as cargo in bulk or bunkering of oil fuel. The MSC also approved recommendations for material safety data sheets (MSDS) for MARPOL Annex I type cargoes and oil fuels.

Click on the above link for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: OSHA MSDS Authoring, CPSC Consumer Label Reviews, Nexreg.

From Life Science Reader:

According to KPMG, some experts have suggested that compliance with REACH may cost several billion euros. “We are really only finding out about the costs of REACH now,” explains Dr. Joanne Lloyd, Ph.D., of the information provider REACHReady (www.reachready.co.uk), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chemical Industries Association. “The ECHA [European Chemicals Agency] originally thought that there were about 30,000 substances relevant to REACH and expected to get about 180,000 preregistration applications in the first six months. Instead, it received around 2.7 million preregistration applications, relating to about 150,000 substances.”…

Under the terms of REACH, non-EU companies that wish to import nonexempt substances produced at levels over one metric ton/year into the EU will need to register them. “The preregistration process is required if companies will secure access to the EU market,” says Hans Schoolderman, director of sustainability & climate change services, PricewaterhouseCoopers Netherlands.

Companies based outside the EU cannot themselves register or preregister chemicals and must use an “only representative” for this process. These are individuals or companies who must be based in the EU, and who are empowered to act on behalf of the non-EU company, and create and submit the required documentation. These people also participate in the SIEF (Substance Information Exchange Forum) on behalf of U.S. companies. There is some concern that this adds an extra step to the process, increasing costs, as well as increasing the risk of security breaches.

For more information, click on the above link.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: Nexreg, REACH Compliance, EU SDS Authoring.

From Marketwire:

New regulations announced today will reduce Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) in automotive refinishing products. VOCs found in these products contribute to the creation of smog, which is harmful to both human health and the environment…

The regulations introduce VOC concentration limits for 14 categories of coatings and surface cleaners, which are used for refinishing or repairing the painted surfaces of automobiles, trucks, and other mobile equipment. These regulations were developed following extensive stakeholder consultation. Once in force, the VOC concentration limits will align with the requirements of leading jurisdictions in the development of VOC product regulations, such as California and the European Union…

The Government of Canada added VOCs to the List of Toxic Substances in Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999) on June 12, 2003. This addition gave the government the authority to develop VOC control instruments, such as these regulations, under CEPA 1999.

For more information on the regulations to reduce VOC emissions from consumer and commercial products visit www.ec.gc.ca/nopp/voc.

Click on the above link for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: Nexreg, CCCR Consumer Label Reviews, WHMIS MSDS Authoring.