Lead battery organisation Battery Council International (BCI) has hired its first in-house lawyer to lead regulatory and legislative efforts, it was announced on 7 January.
Roger Miksad was hired as senior vice president and general counsel after a decade of working for the Chicago, US, based organisation as a member of David Weinberg’s team at Wiley Rein.
Since then he has supported the organisation’s Board of Directors, Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS), Marketing and Technical Committees, authored the BCI Battery Labelling Manual, and led the association’s legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts.
In a Q+A to mark the appointment, Miksad said the major programs affecting the lead industry were California’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations and the green chemistry review, adding at least two other states had OSHA rulemakings underway.
He added: “There are also looming federal pressures. The two most potentially impactful long-term federal efforts will be OSHA’s long-planned effort to update the workplace lead rules, and Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) eventual evaluation of lead under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) program.
“EPA will also soon review the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) air rules and is likely to update the requirements for lead cleanup sites.
“In addition, 17 federal government agencies have committed to turn their attention to lead as part of the federal “Lead Action Plan” to protect children.”
