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Editor’s note: The Monthly Weekly is an occasional feature that reviews the previous month’s news coverage from The Synergist Weekly newsletter.  

The federal government is shut down and the House of Representatives is in recess. But prior activity from the NIOSH health hazard evaluation (HHE) and respiratory approval programs, as well as EPA actions related to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), provided more than enough OEHS-related news for The Synergist Weekly. Below is a recap of the stories we’ve been following in October.

Rescission of respirator approvals. Voluntary rescissions by manufacturers of NIOSH respirator approvals have been common since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. It wasn’t always this way. Review of the agency’s conformity assessment notices reveals that not a single voluntary rescission occurred in the four years spanning 2018 through 2021, and just three in 2022. But in 2023 there were 13 such notices, followed by 16 in 2024 and 11 so far in 2025. Typically, voluntary rescissions involve only a few devices, but the four most recent notices affect more than 1,000 models, including nearly 900 from 3M.

Proposed changes to TSCA. EPA intends to rescind or revise amendments to TSCA made in 2024. The changes would abandon the “whole chemical” approach whereby the agency considers every condition of use, exposure route, and exposure pathway when conducting a risk evaluation, resulting in a single determination of risk for a chemical. The agency is proposing to bring back its previous practice of issuing multiple risk determinations for chemicals based on their conditions of use. Another change would affect how the agency accounts for personal protective equipment in its risk evaluations. Stakeholders can comment on the proposed rule through Nov. 7.

Evaluation of health complaints during an office renovation. A recently released HHE report summarizes an investigation of the health complaints of office workers in a building that was undergoing renovation to accommodate a medical practice. The event that triggered the most complaints was the application of glues containing polyvinyl chloride (PVC) on plumbing traps and caps. NIOSH personnel found problems with indoor environmental quality throughout the building and noted that the renovation area was not effectively isolated.

Reconsideration of the carbon tetrachloride rule. Since the publication of EPA’s final risk management rule for the solvent carbon tetrachloride, it has been the subject of several legal challenges. Now the agency seeks feedback on the rule’s establishment of an existing chemical exposure limit (ECEL) for carbon tetrachloride of 0.03 ppm as an eight-hour, time-weighted average. OSHA’s permissible exposure limit for carbon tetrachloride is 10 ppm as an eight-hour TWA, while NIOSH recommends a 2 ppm 60-minute short-term exposure limit. EPA’s comment period is open until Nov. 10.

The latest news from The Synergist is available on the AIHA website and in The Synergist Weekly e-newsletter, which is delivered to members every Thursday. Please share feedback about our news coverage in the comments here or send an email to The Synergist.