Draft Treaty Aims to Eliminate Plastic Pollution
The “zero draft” of an international treaty on plastics pollution, prepared for review by a UN Environmental Program negotiating committee at a Nov. 13-19 meeting in Kenya, calls for phased-in limits or restrictions on plastic production, requirements for product design, composition and performance, minimum use of recycled content, extended producer responsibility, and other actions to eliminate end-of-life plastic in the environment.
The most contentious issue is expected to be whether the treaty will specify how its objectives are to be accomplished or if it only sets objectives for which each country will develop its own policies and regulatory programs. ACMA is working with the US Department of State and other polymer industry trade groups to ensure that durable products like composites are not inadvertently included in requirements targeted at disposable packing and other “single use” plastic products.
Contact John Schweitzer for more information.
OSHA’s Revised Standard May Impose New Reporting Requirements on Chemical Suppliers
OSHA’s revision of its Hazard Communication Standard is under review by the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the last step before publication as a final rule in the Federal Register.
The requirements of the final rule have not been reported but OSHA released for public comment in 2021 a proposal to require chemical manufacturers and importers to characterize on Safety Data Sheets any hazards associated with not only storage and handling of the chemicals as shipped, as required under the current HCS, but also for all downstream reactions involving the chemicals, for products and byproducts of those reactions, and for any foreseeable emergencies associated with those reactions.
In comments submitted to the agency May 18, 2021, ACMA argued that the proposed requirements would be both impractical if not infeasible to implement and counterproductive to workplace health and safety. ACMA has requested a meeting with OIRA to express our concerns and ask that the rule be returned to OSHA for further revision.
Contact John Schweitzer with any questions.