PHARMACEUTICALS
DRINKING WATER
▸ Teva to pay record fine over bribery charges
EPA updates contaminant watch list
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries agreed to pay $519 million to settle U.S. criminal and civil allegations that it paid bribes to government officials in Russia, Ukraine, and Mexico between 2002 and 2012 to secure business for its medications. The Israel-based company, which is the world’s largest manufacturer of generic drugs, will pay the biggest criminal fine ever imposed by the U.S. government against a pharmaceutical company for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The law, jointly enforced by the Justice Department and the Securities & Exchange Commission, prohibits the payment of bribes to foreign officials to assist in obtaining or retaining business. Teva allegedly made more than $214 million in illicit profits by bribing officials to increase its market share, obtain regulatory approvals, and gain favorable drug purchase and prescription decisions, according to the federal government. The improper conduct did not involve U.S. sales. “While the conduct that resulted in this investigation ended several years ago, it is both regrettable and unacceptable, and we are pleased to finally put this matter behind us,” says Erez Vigodman, Teva CEO.—GLENN HESS, special to C&EN
PESTICIDES
▸ EPA bans 72 inert ingredients
CREDIT: OHIO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
EPA has removed 72 chemicals from the list of inert ingredients that can be added to pesticides. Such chemicals perform functions other than controlling pests. They
EPA has flagged a new group of unregulated contaminants for monitoring by drinking water utilities. The agency says the 30 substances are suspected of occurring in U.S. drinking water and may pose human health risks. The list includes a group of microcystins and other cyanotoxins produced by algal blooms, the organophosphate insecticide chlorpyrifos, and industrial metals germanium and manganese. In November 2016, EPA revised its human health risk assessment for chlorpyrifos in support of its earlier proposal to ban the use of the pesticide, which has been linked to neurodevelopmental risks in children, on food crops. Water utilities must begin monitoring drinking water supplies for chlorpyrifos and the other 29 contaminants in 2018 under the Safe Drinking Water Act. EPA says it will use the monitoring data “to develop regulatory decisions for emerging contaminants.”—JESSICA MORRISON
include emulsifiers, solvents, aerosols, fragrances, dyes, and other substances that are not necessarily benign. The agency’s action comes in response to petitions dating back to 2006 from environmental groups that claim many inert ingredients in pesticides are hazardous. The groups urged EPA to require disclosure of 371 inert ingredients. But pesticide makers pushed back, claiming such information is proprietary. After floating the idea of requiring public disclosure of all pesticide ingredients, EPA reversed
Policy Roundup ▸ Lead in lipstick, blush, eye shadow, lotion, and other cosmetics should not exceed 10 parts per million, FDA says in draft guidelines for industry. The guidance does not apply to hair dyes that contain lead acetate or topically applied drugs. ▸ Animal testing to study the safety of chemicals, food ingredients, pesticides, and
drugs would be phased out by 2025, under a plan released by the Dutch government. Last March, Dutch Minister for Agriculture Martijn van Dam asked a national committee to develop the plan. ▸ Asbestos manufacture, use, import, and export would be banned in Canada as of 2018 under a government
Utilities must monitor drinking water for the presence of algal toxins, the pesticide chlorpyrifos, germanium, and manganese starting in 2018, under a new EPA regulation.
course and decided not to require disclosure of inert substances. Instead, the agency says that it will “evaluate potential risks of inert ingredients and reduce risks, as appropriate.” Some of the 72 chemicals subject to EPA’s rule are among the 371 substances mentioned in the petitions. None of them, however, are currently used in pesticides in the U.S. Environmental activists are urging EPA to quickly assess the other hundreds of inert ingredients that are added to pesticide formulations.—BRITT ERICKSON
plan. The Canadian health and environment agencies expect to develop regulations over the next two years to protect people from the carcinogenic substance in brake pads, construction materials, and other products. ▸ Honeywell International was awarded the management and operating contract for Sandia National Laboratories, which develop nuclear weapons and work on the weapons’
safety, security, reliability. The contract is worth up to $2.6 billion annually over a decade. ▸ Formaldehyde emissions from products containing composite wood particleboard must meet limits established last month by EPA. The emissions standards are: hardwood plywood 0.05 ppm; particleboard, 0.09 ppm; medium-density fiberboard, 0.11 ppm; and thin medium-density fiberboard, 0.13 ppm.
JANUARY 2, 2017 | CEN.ACS.ORG | C&EN
15
