Kouimelis Presents Overview of New Chemical Management Rules

Eleni Kouimelis, a partner and co-chair of Winston & Strawn's environmental law department, presented "Staying Ahead of the Curve: A Strategic Approach to the New Chemical Management Rules" on May 10, 2011 in Chicago. This seminar, hosted by ENVIRON's Chicago office, focused on chemical product management and stewardship.

Ms. Kouimelis provided an overview of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and chemical management with a particular focus on nanotechnology and other innovations driving chemical regulations and management.

Other topics discussed included: "Global chemical regulation: Impacts from REACH, Canada and Beyond;" "TSCA: Update on recent activities including the 2011 IUR and CBI Claims;" and "Chemical product stewardship: An industry perspective on implementation, management, maintenance and market advantages." These TSCA overviews were followed by a question and answer session which focused on:

• TSCA reform: Is it ever going to happen? And if so, what is likely?
• IUR this year: Do we have a clear set of instructions and path for these immediate activities?
• Global chemical regulation: Even if we don't have TSCA reform in the US, how is chemical management changing due to global influences?
• Emerging issues: What is on the horizon in chemical regulation? What are the next problematic substances? How do we get ahead of the curve on limitations on key chemicals?

Ms. Kouimelis was joined by Gavin Thompson, principal of ENVIRON, and Brandon Neuschafer, partner at Bryan Cave.