Draft DTSC Work Plan Signals Expansion of California Green Chemistry Initiative

As part of its Safer Consumer Products Regulation (SCPR) under California’s Green Chemistry Initiative, the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) on September 13, 2014 issued its Draft Priority Product Three-Year Work Plan. Companies that manufacture or sell products within the seven categories identified in the draft Work Plan will need to pay close attention to the pre- and then final rulemaking process.

Under the SCPR, DTSC is required to:

• identify products that contain one or more of the nearly 1200 “candidate chemicals” that have been identified by DTSC based on the risk that they may present to the environment or human health,
• prioritize those products for review under an “alternatives analysis” to assess whether there are safer alternatives to the chemicals presently in use, and then
• consider a number of possible “regulatory responses” based on the results of the alternatives analysis, which at its most extreme includes the possibility of banning the sale of the product in California. 

DTSC’s initial list of proposed “priority products,” which is still in the rule-making process, includes:

• Spray Polyurethane Foam (SPF) Systems containing unreacted diisocyanates,
• Children’s Foam Padded Sleeping Products containing Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCPP), and
• Paint and Varnish Strippers with methylene chloride.

The seven broader categories of products that DTSC will review as part of the three-year Work Plan are:

• Beauty, Personal Care and Hygiene Products (body wash and soaps, cosmetics, nail and hair care products, lotions, etc.),
• Building Products—limited to paints, adhesives, sealants, flooring,
• Household, Office Furniture and Furnishings—limited to those treated with flame retardants and/or stain resistant chemicals,
• Cleaning Products,
• Clothing,
• Fishing and Angling Equipment, and
• Office Machinery—e.g., printer inks, specialty paper, toner cartridges.

The Work Plan can be downloaded here. DTSC is holding preliminary Work Shops on September 25 in Sacramento, and September 29 in Cypress. Comments on the draft Work Plan are due by October 13, 2014, although DTSC acknowledges that implementation of the SCPR, and in particular selection of priority products, will be a long process, and that significant input from all stakeholders will be critical. 

-- Josh Bloom and Chris Jensen

For more information, please contact Josh Bloom at (415) 228-5406 or jab@bcltlaw.com; Chris Jensen at (415) 228-5411 or cdj@bcltlaw.com; or Samir Abdelnour at (415) 228-5443 or sja@bcltlaw.com.