Government Roundup

Confidential business information and other data on pesticides and toxic substances can be shared between EPA and FDA under a memorandum of understanding announced last week. The data are expected to better inform regulatory decisions related to the safety of food, animal drugs, and cosmetics.

Nanomaterials research that examines health risks would get a boost in fiscal 2016 under a supplement to the President’s budget request. The proposal would allocate about 10% of the National Nano­technology Initiative’s $1.5 billion budget to risk assessment research.

Elementis Chromium does not have to pay a $2.5 million fine, EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board has decided, throwing out the agency’s case against the chemical company. The board ruled that Elementis was not required to submit a study on workplace exposure to hexavalent chromium to EPA, as the agency had argued.

Corrosive dust policies at EPA must be updated, a court has ruled, saying dust from implosion demolitions of large buildings, including the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, is harmful to lungs and other respiratory tissues. EPA says it will comply with the court’s order by March 31, 2016.