• EPA issues 5 draft TSCA assessments, draws ACC praise for seeking public input
  The Environmental Protection Agency has released five of the seven initial draft assessments for chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act. The drafts, which are open to public comment, cover todichloromethane, n-methylpyrrolidone, trichloroethylene, antimony trioxide and 1,3,4,6,7,8-Hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexamethylcyclopenta-γ-2-benzopyran. The EPA said assessments for medium- and long-chain chlorinated paraffins will be released at an undisclosed date. The American Chemistry Council "commends EPA for seeking public comment on its draft work plan risk assessments prior to conducting scientific peer review." InsideEPA.com (free content) (1/4)     

• Read more from ACC on the importance of transparent, science-based risk assessments; read ACC's full statement on the EPA's draft assessments      

• Rep. Shimkus: House priorities include blocking EPA on fracking
  The Environmental Protection Agency should not try to go beyond its authority to regulate hydraulic fracking, "which states have been successfully regulating on their own for many years," says Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill. Shimkus is chairman of the House Energy subcommittee on the environment and economy. InsideEPA.com (free content) (1/4)     

• Report: Power producers to spend $4.8 billion on treatment chemicals
  Power utility firms are expected to spend in excess of $4.8 billion for water-treatment chemicals this year, according to a report. Among the largest expenditures are for corrosion prevention with more than $2.4 billion and for scale inhibitors for boiler feedwater with more than $1.3 billion, the report states. Environmental Leader (1/4)     

• Other News

• U.S. solvents producers expect improved demand this year
  ICIS News (U.K.)/(subscription required) (1/4)     

• Maine DEP: Board should reject anti-BPA petition
  Chemical Week (subscription required) (1/4)     

• Dow Chemical, Klean Industries to research recovery methods for waste plastics
  Dow Chemical has reached a three-year deal with Klean Industries for the development of technology for chemical recovery and other uses in post-consumer waste plastics. Chemical Week (subscription required) (1/4)     

• Defense Dept. awards research grant for PPG's coatings project
  The Department of Defense's Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program has awarded $1.5 million grant to PPG Industries for developing chemical-resistant coatings for military vehicles. American City Business Journals/Pittsburgh (1/4)     

• It's time for leaders to get real
  Leadership should be about facing up to uncomfortable realities, not about burying your head in the sand, writes George Ambler. Only reality-based leadership can inspire employees or bring long-term strategic success. "Convincing ourselves that things are better or different from reality is never a good idea," he writes. George Ambler blog (1/4)     

• If you save the company money, make some noise
  Many managers aim to outperform their spending targets, but not all realize the importance of quickly reporting revised spending projections, Paul Smith of Procter & Gamble writes. Not reporting savings can lead senior managers to make important strategic decisions based on inaccurate information. "If you've figured out a way to save more money, by all means do it. Just let management know about it," Smith writes. ThoughtLeaders blog (1/2)     

• ACC Weekly Economic Report
  The economic reports over the past few weeks suggest that the economy ended the year on a soft note. The data represent the weeks before the "fiscal cliff" compromise and thus reflect a period of anxious waiting and uncertainty. With a 24-hour news cycle dedicated to the "fiscal cliff," consumer confidence tumbled. The ISM report suggests that U.S. manufacturing returned to a slight expansion in December.
  
  Stay informed. Subscribe to ACC's Weekly Economic Report.     

Top five news stories selected by ACC SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• Honeywell, DuPont CEOs: Congress has work to do after "fiscal cliff" (Reuters)

• Dow Chemical reopens La. ethylene facility idled in 2009 (Bloomberg)

• Dow Chemical suspends PE expansion at Brazilian facility (Chemical Week)

• Eagle Ford Shale to drive Texas petrochemical industry, report says (Platts)

• Shale gas bolsters U.S. chemical outlook for 2013-15 (Royal Society of Chemistry)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master. The covetous man cannot so properly be said to possess wealth, as that may be said to possess him." --Francis Bacon, British author and statesman