From the ECHA:

The MSC could not find unanimous agreement based on scientific and technical arguments on a draft decision for a testing proposal. For the first time, the procedure foreseen in Article 51(7) of the REACH Regulation will therefore be used, requiring the referral of the case to the Commission for decision making involving the Commission REACH Committee.

For the full new story please see the link above.

From ECHA:

The European Chemicals Agency together with the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC), Eurometaux, CONCAWE (the oil companies’ European association), the European Association of Chemical Distributors (FECC) and the International Association for Soaps, Detergents and Maintenance Products (AISE) on behalf of the Downstream Users of  Chemicals Coordination Group (DUCC) have established a cross-sector collaborative network to share knowledge, techniques and approaches to building and applying (REACH) exposure scenarios. The first meeting will be held in Brussels, on November 24 and 25, 2011.  Sectors of industry, NGOs, Member State authorities and other stakeholders will be invited to participate.

ENES will share the approaches and practical experience of industry and other stakeholders from the first REACH registration deadline, the areas that are working well and the areas where improvements are needed.

The Exchange Network of Exposure Scenarios is among the activities that ECHA is rolling out to support companies for the second registration deadline in 2013. Practical solutions for preparing and communicating ESs identified by the first Network meeting will be published in the beginning of 2012 by the Agency.

For more information see the link above.

Health Canada is having a webinar on Wednesday October 5, 2011 on the new Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) which came into force on June 20th, 2011.

Discussions included in this webinar are:

• Mandatory Reporting of an Incident
• Preparing and Maintaining Documents

For registration instructions please see the below link:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/legislation/acts-lois/ccpsa-lcspc/indust/webinar-webinaire-eng.php

From ECHA:

ECHA launches the ‘REACH 2013 – Act Now!’ campaign at the REACH Conference on 23 September to remind the industry to start preparing for the second REACH registration deadline. Companies manufacturing or importing chemicals in quantities at or above 100 tonnes per year are required to register these substances with ECHA by 31 May 2013.

On ECHA’s website, there is a dedicated webpage on which there is an agenda for the events that ECHA is rolling out in relation to the REACH 2013 deadline. All relevant materials and links can also be found there. In addition, ECHA has designed a promotional web banner that Member States, industry associations and other organisations can add to their REACH web pages…

Visit the ECHA website for more information on REACH and the Act Now! Campaign.

From the FDA:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says users of epinephrine inhalers containing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) should plan now to get a prescription for a replacement product because these inhalers will not be made or sold after Dec. 31, 2011.

Epinephrine inhalers, marketed by Armstrong Pharmaceutical Inc. as Primatene Mist, are the only FDA-approved inhalers for the temporary relief of occasional symptoms of mild asthma that are sold over-the-counter in retail stores without a prescription. The product uses CFCs to propel the medicine out of the inhaler so that consumers can breathe it into their lungs.

However, Primatene Mist will no longer be available by year’s end because no CFC-containing epinephrine inhalers can be made or sold after Dec. 31, 2011, to comply with obligations made under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. This is an international agreement signed by the United States, in which countries agreed to phase-out substances that deplete the ozone layer, including CFCs, after certain dates.

For more information or the full article please see the above link.

From: EPA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation to spend an estimated $20 million to build a groundwater cleanup system to address groundwater contamination stemming primarily from the former Benchmark Technology facility in the City of Industry, Calif., located within the San Gabriel Valley Superfund Sites.

Formerly located at 200 South Turnbull Canyon Road, the Benchmark Technology facility is one of the largest sources of volatile organic compound groundwater contamination in the Puente Valley area of the Superfund site. Northrop Grumman will install wells and a treatment plant to contain and treat groundwater contaminated by VOCs and 1,4-dioxane. The treated water will then be discharged back to surface water or injected back into the underground aquifer, providing additional water resources to San Gabriel Valley residents.

Click on the links for more information.

From Health Canada:

This recall involves the Pourable Real Flame gel fuel bottles. The product is a clear, pourable gel fuel packaged in 946 millilitres (32 oz.) and 886.6 millilitres (29.98 oz) plastic bottles sold in non-scented and citronella scents. All lot codes are affected.

The pourable gel fuel can ignite unexpectedly and splatter onto people and objects nearby when it is poured into a firepot that is still burning.

This hazard can occur if the consumer does not see the flame or is not aware that the firepot is still ignited. Fuel gel that splatters and ignites can pose fire and burn risks to consumers that can be fatal.

For more information see the link above.

If you have any doubts about the compliancy of your chemical products, please do not hesitate to contact us:

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

From Health Canada:

This recall involves pourable fuel gel packaged in 946 millilitres (32 ounces) bottles and sold with or without citronella oil. The labels on the container say “Bird Brain Firepot Fuel Gel” or “BioFuel Fuel Gel.” The bottles were sold as single bottles and in multiple-bottle packages. The fuel is poured into a stainless steel cup in the center of ceramic firepots or other decorative lighting devices and ignited.

The pourable gel fuel can ignite unexpectedly and splatter onto people and objects nearby when it is poured into a firepot that is still burning.

This hazard can occur if the consumer does not see the flame or is not aware that the firepot is still ignited. Fuel gel that splatters and ignites can pose fire and burn risks to consumers that can be fatal.

For more information see the link above.

If you have any doubts about the compliancy of your chemical products, please do not hesitate to contact us:

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

From: Environmental Leader

The American Chemistry Council is seeking to inform the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulatory revisions with a proposed system for prioritizing chemical review and assessment.

The council says that the EPA lacks a “consistent, transparent process” for evaluating which chemicals need further evaluation, and that the agency risks wasting time and resources gathering information on chemicals that are already well understood or do not pose a health or environmental risk. ACC says its prioritization tool, drawn up in consultation with member companies, would allow the EPA to apply objective criteria to prioritize chemicals for further review.

The EPA recently released a new Chemical Data Reporting rule, which the agency said will require chemical manufacturers to report critical information more often and submit new and updated information related to potential exposures, current production volume, manufacturing site data, and processing and use data for more chemicals. The rule will take effect at the next reporting period, February 1, 2012 to June 30, 2012.

Click on the links for more information.

From: EPA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the District Attorney for New York County, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the New York Office of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HIS), and the New York Office of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), today announced federal criminal charges against two defendants, Chen Yan Huang and Jai Ping Chen, and state criminal charges against 10 defendants, for their respective roles in the illegal distribution and sale of unregistered and misbranded pesticides that were sold out of multiple locations in Manhattan.

The pesticides were particularly dangerous because their packaging and appearance could lead them to be mistaken for cookies or cough medicine. The pesticides were not registered by EPA and were missing required label warnings, so consumers had no way of knowing how dangerous the products were or how best to protect themselves from harmful exposure. In fact, one woman accidentally ingested one of the pesticides, believing it to be medicine, and was hospitalized as a result.

Click on the link above for more information on this case.