REGULATORY NEWS FOR WEEK OF OCTOBER 3, 2019

• Notice – Update of the safety standard CAN/CGSB-43.146

The following standard will be undergoing an update by the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB).  This standard sets out requirements for designing, manufacturing and marking of Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) and for selecting and using means of containment for the transportation of dangerous goods of classes 3, 4, 5, 6.1, 8 and 9.

CAN/CGSB 43.146 “Design, manufacture and use of intermediate bulk containers for the transportation of dangerous goods, classes 3, 4, 5, 6.1, 8 and 9”.

• Manitoba increases minimum wage effective October 1^st

The province reminds Manitobans the minimum wage will increase by 30 cents to $11.65 on October 1^st.

• Ontario reveals inspection results on new small businesses

Results of a province-wide initiative that focused on new small businesses with fewer than 50 workers at industrial workplaces from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019. During a health and safety initiative focusing on new small businesses from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019, Ministry of Labour inspectors:

• conducted 4,845 field visits with 291 support role activities
• visited 3,942 workplaces
• issued 13,907 orders and requirements under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and its regulations, including 184 stop work orders

• US FDA launches Food Defense Plan Builder

The Food Defense Plan Builder (FDPB) version 2.0 is a user-friendly tool designed to help owners and operators of a food facility in the development of a food defense plan that is specific to their facility and may assist them with meeting the requirements of the Mitigation Strategies to Prevent Food Against Intentional Adulteration regulation (21 CFR Part 121) (IA rule).

• US to add 3 drug precursor chemicals to List I and Schedule II

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has proposed to control three substances used by operators of clandestine laboratories to illicitly manufacture the deadly Schedule II controlled substance.

Two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking were published in the Federal Register recently.  On Friday, Sept. 13, 2019, DEA proposed that benzylfentanyl and 4-anilinopiperidine be controlled as list I chemicals under the Controlled Substances Act. Today, DEA proposes to designate norfentanyl as an immediate precursor (i.e., a substance from which another is formed) for fentanyl and to make it a Schedule II controlled substance under the CSA.

• European court confirms Bisphenol A as an endocrine disruptor to human health

On 20 September 2019, the General Court issued a judgment in case T-636/17 dismissing in its entirety an action brought against ECHA’s decision to include bisphenol A (EC 201-245-8, CAS 80-05-7) in the Candidate List on the basis that it is a substance of a very high concern having endocrine disrupting properties for human health. The Court found that the Applicant failed to demonstrate legal or scientific error by ECHA rendering the identification as unlawful or implausible.

• Four trends that will impact ISO’s future strategy

Economic and trade uncertainty, changing societal expectations, the impacts of climate change, and digital transformation were the main disruptive forces highlighted at ISO’s General Assembly that will affect the organization moving forward.

Safety Share

• Natural disasters can disrupt access to clean drinking water

To help communities and drinking water utilities, EPA researchers and partners from the Sandia National Laboratories developed the Water Network Tool for Resilience (WNTR), a comprehensive scientific software package to help assess the resilience of drinking water systems to natural disasters.