June 2017

On June 22nd, the EPA marked the first anniversary of the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act (“LCSA”), commonly known as “TSCA Reform,” by issuing a Federal Register prepublication report. The EPA was obligated by statutory requirement under the TSCA Reform regulation to announce a number of rules by June 22, 2017. The major rule announced was the requirement for reporting of all chemicals manufactured in and imported into the United States in the 10 years preceding June 21, 2016, “TSCA Re-Set,” to create an “Active” TSCA Inventory.

The California Senate has passed Senate Bill (S.B.) 258, the "Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2017." The bill would require cleaning product manufacturers to disclose certain chemical information on the product label, including a pictogram and a statement directing the consumer to the manufacturer's website for more information including health effects of ingredients of concern. The bill would also require employers to disclose the same information for any container used in the workplace to which a cleaning product is transferred. The bill proposes to apply to cleaning products manufactured or sold in California on or after 1 January 2018.

The Government of Canada's Workplace Hazardous Materials Bureau announced on 19 May 2017 via email that compliance with the Hazardous Products Regulations (HPR) or Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) will incur a one-year delay. New transition deadlines are now extended until 2018 for Phase 1 of the HPR, and additional three months have be added to comply under Phase 2 of the HPR.