Postponement/cancellations

Europe

Publication of Echa’s annual progress report on the integrated regulatory strategy will "most probably" be postponed until May, the agency has said.

The report gives an update on the progress Echa has made in bringing together REACH and CLP processes to address substances of concern. Its first such report was published in April last year.

Derogations tracker or eased regulations

Europe

The trade bodies for soaps and detergents (Aise), chemical distributors (Fecc) and biocidal products (EBPF), along with the Consultancy for Environmental & Human Toxicology and Risk Assessment (Cehtra) have released a practical guide to assist companies in complying with the biocidal products Regulation (BPR) and other biocides-related laws, during the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic.

The document, which the associations say will be updated regularly, includes:

• a section setting out the main procedures available for fast-tracking the availability of disinfectants in order to help fight the pandemic;
• an overview of national measures adopted in European countries, either under the BPR’s Article 55 derogations and/or national laws; and
• a list of all the biocidal active substances approved or under review for use in human hygiene disinfectants (product-type one) and disinfectants not intended for direct use on humans or animals (product-type two).

The associations have joined forces in a cross-industry on Covid-19. Law firms Fieldfisher and Steptoe and Johnson also contributed to the guide.

US

The US Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has updated its voluntary guidance on the "essential critical infrastructure workforce". Version 3.0 of the guidance expands the categories of critical infrastructure workers and provides additional information for governments and businesses, CISA said. Among other additions, it adds a reference to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidance on safety for critical infrastructure workers and clarifies that sick workers should avoid job sites.

US

Among other requests, a trio of Congressional Democratic leaders has called on the US EPA to set a clear end date for the agency’s Covid-19 enforcement discretion policy. The EPA announced the policy in March, saying it probably would not take enforcement action for violations of "routine" reporting and monitoring requirements. 

The letter from Democratic Representatives Frank Pallone, Jr (New Jersey), Peter DeFazio (Oregon) and Betty McCollum (Minnesota) also called on EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler to provide by 5 May the information the agency used to evaluate the effects the temporary policy would have on human health and the environment.

US

The US EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) will convene a Covid-19 panel to provide advice on scientific issues related to the pandemic and opportunities for research that could help to inform responses to future outbreaks. The panel will hold a teleconference on 30 April to review research activities and begin to prepare a draft report. The report will be reviewed during a second teleconference on 20 May.

Supply chain concerns

US

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)continues to issue emergency authorisations to sterilise and reuse respirators to meet demand by healthcare workers during the pandemic. The Sterilucent HC 80TT Hydrogen Peroxide Sterilizer is among the latest to receive emergency authorisation for the decontamination of N95 and N95-equivalent respirators.