California Proposition 65 Revises the Requirements of Short Form of Warning Label
On November 26, 2024, the California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved proposed amendments by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment's (OEHHA) to its safe harbor warning methods.
This regulatory action will make the Proposition 65 short-form warning more informative to consumers by adding at least one chemical name and providing additional warning options for businesses to select from. The regulations provide businesses that currently rely on the existing short-form warnings three years to transition to the new short-form content.
The amendment will become effective on January 1, 2025. The updated short-form warning content will become mandatory by January 1, 2028.

EPA Prohibits PCE in Consumer and Major Commercial Uses
On December 6, 2024, the US EPA has finalized its TSCA risk management rule for perchloroethylene (PCE or Perc), mandating a phase-out of the solvent in all consumer and many commercial uses and adding stringent workplace controls for 16 applications while it is allowed to be used.
Specific stipulations of Prohibitions of Manufacturing, Processing, Distribution in Commerce, and Use will be phased in 540 days after publication of the rule.
Unless otherwise specified in the rule, the prohibitions and restrictions of this Subpart do not apply to products containing PCE at thresholds less than 0.1 percent by weight.

ECHA Considering Alternative Options to PFAS Ban for Some Sectors
In January 2023, the five authorities (Danish, German, Dutch, Norwegian, and Swedish) submitted a REACH dossier on the PFAS restriction to ECHA. The five authorities and ECHA's scientific committees for Risk Assessment and for Socio-Economic Analysis continue to consider more than 5 600 comments received from third parties during the six-month consultation. Alternative restriction options, besides a full ban or a ban with time-limited derogations, are also being considered. An alternative option could, for example, involve conditions allowing the continued manufacture, placing on the market or use of PFAS instead of a ban. These alternative options are being considered for uses including, but not limited to: batteries; fuel cells; and electrolysers.

ECHA Adds 6 SVHCs to Candidate List in January 2025
The ECHA's Member State Committee (MSC) has agreed to identify Octamethyltrisiloxane as a substance of very high concern in its December 2024 meeting. The Committee had agreed in written procedure on four further substances to be added to the Candidate List. One substance will be included without the committee's involvement.  ECHA will add these six substances of very high concern in January 2025 to the Candidate List: