Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/752514
8 POWDER COATING, November 2016 bill that would update the Toxic Sub- stances Control Act (TSCA), the federal law governing how chemicals are man- aged, for the first time in 40 years. The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act was signed by President Obama in June. The land- mark law was named after the late sena- tor who introduced a version of the bill in 2013. The measure passed in both the House of Representatives and Senate. For decades, environmental and health advocates have complained that the country's primary chemical manage- ment law was broken and weak, allow- ing as many as 85,000 untested chemi- cals to enter the marketplace. Under the new law, the enforcement responsibility of the EPA is expanded. The EPA is re- quired to test the tens of thousands of unregulated chemicals that are currently on the market, and the roughly 2,000 new chemicals introduced each year. The process of evaluating chemicals will take time. The EPA will review a mini- mum of 20 chemicals at a time, and each has a seven-year deadline. After a new rule is promulgated, industry may have years to phase out the chemicals, reports add. Other updates include making it more difficult for manufac- turers to keep chemical information confidential based on trade secret claims. The new law also allows EPA determinations to preempt state regula- tions. States will still be able to regulate chemicals before the agency reviews them, but they ultimately must uphold the EPA's final action on a chemical. Along with 138 other associations, the American Coatings Association (ACA) pushed lawmakers to move quickly to pass the legislation, stating that the mea- sure creates a transparent, evidence- based, cohesive national program that will improve the regulation of chemicals used in commerce, provide more cer- tainty and confidence in the regulatory framework, and have a significant im- pact on many industries. Critics say the new law will be an enor- mous challenge for the EPA. In particu- lar, they note that the bill doesn't pro- vide the EPA enough money to get through the enormous backlog of old and, in some cases, very dangerous chemicals to assess whether they need to be regulated or banned. Because of this, it could take the EPA decades to work though the chemicals. Further, some fear that strong state protections against certain chemicals could be preempted by weaker federal protections. BASF acquires Chemetall in $3.2 billion deal LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany— Known as a multinational chemicals manufacturing corporation, BASF is ex- panding its coatings portfolio through the acquisition of a global surface treat- ment business. BASF has signed an agree- ment to acquire Chemetall, a global busi- ness unit of specialty chemical company Albemarle Corp., at a purchase price of $3.2 billion. The all-cash deal is expected to close by the end of 2016 and is subject to approval by the relevant authorities and other customary closing conditions. Chemetall, headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, specializes in metal surface treatment chemicals that offer protec- tion from corrosion, prepare parts for the painting process, and ensure coating adhesion. These chemicals are used in a wide range of industries and end mar- kets, primarily automotive, aerospace, coil, and metal forming. The company reported $845 million in sales in 2015. According to BASF, the acquisition will give BASF access to key growth indus- tries such as automotive and aerospace and further enhance its global footprint with localized production and technical centers in China and India. BASF will add surface treatment to its current port- folio. It will also add Chemetall's high- quality resources and technical expertise. Company announces rebranding HOUSTON, Tex.—Anticorrosion coatings and lubricants provider A-76 Technologies Inc. has changed its name to Aidant Brands. As part of the re- branding initiative, its A-76 line of preservation coatings will now be iden- tified as the Rust Patrol line. The re- branding strategy was part of an effort to better speak to its customers, both in the industrial and household space, as well as to plan for future expansion. Aidant Brands launched in 2014 under the A-76 Technologies name. OSHA proposes to amend respiratory protection standard WASHINGTON, D.C.—OSHA has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemak- ing to add two quantitative fit-testing protocols to the agency's Respiratory Protection Standard. The protocols would apply to employers in the general, shipyard, and construction industries. Appendix A of the standard contains mandatory respirator fit-testing meth- ods that employers must use to ensure their employees' respirators fit properly and protect the wearer. The standard also allows individuals to submit new fit-test protocols for OSHA approval. TSI Inc. submitted an application for new protocols for full-facepiece and half-mask elastomeric respirators and filtering facepiece respirators. The proposed protocols are variations of the existing OSHA-accepted Porta- Count protocol, but differ from it by the exercise sets, exercise duration, and sampling sequence. The agency invites the public to comment on the accuracy and reliability of the proposed proto- cols, their effectiveness in detecting res- pirator leakage, and their usefulness in selecting respirators that will protect employees from airborne contaminants in the workplace. Individuals may sub- m i t c o m m e n t s e l e c t r o n i c a l l y a t www.regulations.gov. The deadline for submitting comments is Dec. 6, 2016. This proposed rulemaking would allow employers greater flexibility in choosing fit-testing methods for employees. The proposed rule would not require an em- ployer to update or replace current fit- testing methods, as long as the fit-test- ing method(s) currently in use meet ex- isting standards. The proposal also would not impose additional costs on any private or public sector entity. Top Gun Powder Coating expands presence in Georgia JASPER, Ga.—Top Gun Powder Coating and Architectural Coating, a leading provider of world class architec- tural finishes, is opening a new location in Adairsville, Ga. In addition, the com- pany is in the process of creating a total of 70 new jobs – 60 at the Adairsville site and 10 at its existing Jasper, Ga., lo- cation. Top Gun provides architectural