Consultation delays
US – California
The comment period for California’s proposal to list carpets and rugs containing perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) as a priority product under the state’s Safer Consumer Products programme, has been extended by 45 days until 15 May, the Department of Toxic Substances Control has said.
The public meeting on the proposal will also be delayed until 15 May and held via teleconference.
US – New York
New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation has cancelled public hearings and delayed the public comment period on proposed revisions to its regulation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in consumer products. The regulation – 6 NYCRR Part 200.9 – addresses cleaners, disinfectants, paint thinners and automotive fluids, among other items, the DEC said.
The comment period on the proposal is extended until close of business on 21 May.
Meetings update
The Netherlands
The 11th World Congress on alternatives and animal use in the life sciences (WC11) will be postponed for a year, until 22-26 August 2021, according to the event’s organisers. Dutch authorities have banned all large events in the country before September.
UK
The British Aerosol Manufacturers' Association has cancelled this year’s annual Innovation Day. Originally scheduled for 7 July in Leeds, UK, the BAMA said it will delay the event until 21 April 2021. In the interim, the association said it plans to make conference presentations available through a series of webinars.
Global
The UN has cancelled the 39th meeting of the GHS subcommittee, originally scheduled for 8-10 July. It will now take place on 9-11 December and, according to a message on the website of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (Unece), further details will be communicated soon.
Relaxed regulations and implemented derogations
US
The US EPA has said it will make $1m in grant funding available to states to help local environmental justice communities impacted by Covid-19. The EPA said it expects to award five grants of roughly $200,000 each for up to a two-year funding period. Funds will support the sharing of information related to EPA-approved disinfectants to combat Covid-19 and addressing increased exposure of residents to in-home pollutants.
Thailand
The Ministry of Industry’s Department of Industrial Works (DIW) is asking companies that intend to produce or import hazardous substances into the country to apply for a registration and certificate electronically, using the Hazardous Single Substance Submission platform, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Companies can also email the DIW to request amendments or cancellations to their import production licences and their request can be tracked using its tracking system.
Thailand
Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health has recategorised alcohol-based cleaning products, such as hand sanitisers, as cosmetics, to allow cosmetic makers to produce, import or sell them. However, they must contain no more than 70% alcohol, such as ethanol or isopropanol.
Previously, these products were categorised as medical items and the country’s Cosmetics Act B.E 2558 prohibited cosmetic producers from manufacturing them.
The measure was adopted on 9 March and came into force on 10 March, but notified to the WTO on 4 May.
The Food and Drug Administration also brought in temporary measures on 27 March to speed up market authorisation for PPE and hand sanitisers.
Sweden
The Swedish Chemicals Agency (Kemi) has granted a derogation from the EU biocidal products Regulation’s (BPR’s) authorisation requirements for the use of the preservative Biobor JF in aircraft fuel.
Leaving aircrafts unused for long periods of time increases the risk of oil-degrading microorganisms contaminating the fuel tank; a risk that has risen with the reduction in global air traffic caused by the pandemic.
Biobor JF is currently the only available biocidal product that is globally certified to aircraft or engine manufacturers for the preservation of aviation fuel.
The exemption is valid until 30 October.
Denmark
The Danish EPA has extended a legal exemption allowing companies to sell and import hand sanitisers containing ethanol or isopropanol, where the active substance does not come from an approved supplier that is registered on the BPR’s Article 95 list.
Companies are permitted to sell these products to retailers until 31 July.
The retailer is allowed to sell them until 21 September. This includes only to end users, not for resale.
Jamaica
Jamaica’s Bureau of Standards has issued a specification for the formulation requirements for alcohol-based hand sanitiser.
It recommends a concentration of between 60% and 80% alcohol.
The mandatory 'Standard specification for instant hand sanitisers' appeared in the Jamaica Gazette Supplement – Proclamations, Rules and Regulations. It entered into force on 5 May.
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