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Reports on government efforts to restrict hazardous substances in electronics. European Union legislation that would restrict certain substances in the manufacture of electronics and mandate recycling of materials; Efforts in the U.S. to ban disposal of computer and television displays in landfills and incinerators; Restrictions in the use of hazardouses chemicals in electronics imposed in Japan and China.

Reports that the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) program to cut anthropogenic sources of mercury may signal a national approach to controlling persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals. Comments from Lynn R. Goldman, EPA assistant administrator; Allotment of the agency for its program; Focus of the agency's mercury strategy; Brief description about mercury.

Reports on additional number of chemicals that industrial companies in the United States must monitor for the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) under a proposed rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Requirement for manufacturers to submit to EPA an annual report estimating the total amount of the chemical that the company releases into the environment; More.

The article reports on the argument of European environmental groups and chemical company Akzo Nobel NV and retailer Ikea calling for more substitutions for certain applications of hazardous chemicals under the regulation Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & Restriction of Chemicals (REACH).

The article reports on the move of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop a national comprehensive regulation on combustible dust. It states that the move was set off following reports of 780 injuries in dust explosions and other dust-related industrial accidents since 1980 in the chemical industry. It says that the OSHA has evaluated possible regulatory methods and has requested data and comments on the proposed rule.

The article reports on the U.S. Department of Labor's proposal for a risk assessment approach that will streamline how the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Mine Safety and Health Administration assess workers' risk of exposure to hazardous substances and promote public input into the rulemaking process. Critics argue that the proposal will make it difficult to protect workers from exposure to hazardous chemicals.

The article reports that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking for comments on the data it will use to identify whether certain industrial facilities need to make reductions in their emissions of hazardous air pollutants. Among the industries that the agency is monitoring include pharmaceutical producers, petroleum refineries and manufacturers of polymers and resins.