Overview
On April 15th, California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released a draft outline for the Safer Consumer Product Alternatives regulation. The Safer Consumer Product Alternatives regulation, also known as California’s Green Chemistry Initiative, is intended to develop a green chemicals policy that will reduce the use of hazardous materials and make products and manufacturing processes safer by design. DTSC originally intended the Green Chemistry Initiative to create a comprehensive policy framework for chemical regulations that uses a science-based lifecycle approach to evaluate chemicals used in products sold in California. The draft outline released last month is an improvement from the straw proposal published last year. However, the draft outline still has some areas for improvement. The screening process for chemicals of concern and priority products (products that contain chemicals of concern) should be scientifically based and manufacturers should have ample time to complete alternatives assessments.
The draft outline is an improvement from the straw proposal published last year. However, the draft outline still has some potential for improvement. The screening process for chemicals of concern and priority products (products that contain chemicals of concern) should be scientifically based and manufacturers should have ample time to complete alternatives assessments.
The draft outline of the green chemistry regulation identifies three parts: identifying and prioritizing chemicals of concern (COCs); identifying and prioritizing priority products (products that contain COCs); and conducting alternatives assessments on chemicals in products. According to the outline, DTSC will be responsible for identifying and prioritizing both COCs and priority products while manufacturers are responsible for carrying out alternatives assessments.
The first part of the draft outline identifies and prioritizes chemicals. Chemicals that exhibit a “hazard trait” as defined in Section III and are “reasonably expected to be contained in consumer products found in California” are subject to restrictions under the regulation. DTSC plans to start with a list of chemicals that pose the greatest threat to public health or the environment. This list will be based on the hazard traits the chemical exhibits, whether the chemical is identified in California’s Health and Safety Code Section 25249.8, whether the chemical is classified as causing mutagenic effects under the European Union Category 1A or 1B under Annex VI, part 3 of Regulation (EC), and if the chemical is persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic as determined by the U.S. EPA.
In addition, any interested stakeholder may petition DTSC to consider a chemical or a chemical product combination for prioritization. The nominated chemicals are assessed by DTSC according to criteria put forth in Section III (B) of the draft outline. These criteria are based on the inherent hazard characteristics of a chemical. If a chemical meets these criteria then they are added to the Chemicals under Consideration list. Chemicals on the Chemicals under Consideration list are subject to another set of criteria put forth in Section III (C) of the draft outline. This set of criteria determines a chemical’s greatest threat to public health and the environment based on the hazard characteristics of the chemical and existing regulations and data that prove the chemical to be harmful. If a Chemical under Consideration meets these criteria then it is listed as a Chemical of Concern (COC). Both the Chemicals under Consideration list and COC list will be open to public comment and constantly evolving.
The next segment of the draft outline discusses the identification and prioritization of products. Products that contain COCs will be identified by DTSC based on prioritization factors put forth in Section IV (B) of the draft outline. Products that meet these prioritization factors will be added to the Products under Consideration list. Products under Consideration that meet the criteria in Section IV (C) will be added to the Priority Products list. Both the Products under Consideration list and the Priority Products list will be open to public comment and constantly evolving.
The final portion of the draft outline discusses requirements for manufacturers to conduct alternatives assessments (AAs) on COCs in Priority Products. Section VI of the draft outline explains what a manufacturer must include in an AA, the process for submitting an AA, and how they can be exempt from performing an AA. If a manufacturer of a Priority Product that contains a COC is not exempt, they must submit an AA Work Plan to DTSC. Once the Work Plan is approved by DTSC, the manufacturer must conduct the AA according to the Work Plan and then submit an AA Report. The AA Work Plan and Report requirements are in Section VI. The draft outline does not indicate how long DTSC will give the manufacturer to complete the AA Work Plan, conduct the AA, and submit the AA Report.
IPC has created a diagram of the draft outline to help illustrate DTSC’s intentions. If you have specific comments/suggestions on DTSC’s draft outline please contact Stephanie Castorina.
Background
In 2009, California DTSC released a straw proposal for their Green Chemistry Initiative (GCI) that would set up a statewide green chemicals policy. California’s GCI is intended to develop a green chemicals policy that will reduce the use of hazardous materials and make products and manufacturing processes safer by design. The straw proposal released last year would prohibit a long list of chemicals from virtually every product sold in the state of California. DTSC originally intended the Green Chemistry Initiative to create a comprehensive policy framework for chemical regulations that uses a science-based lifecycle approach to evaluate chemicals used in products sold in California. The straw proposal took the “everything but the kitchen sink” approach to identifying chemicals of concern. The DTSC listed sixteen “chemicals of concern” and twenty-nine other lists of “chemicals of concern,” all of which would be restricted under California’s Green Chemistry program. The “list of lists” identified thousands of chemicals that would be prohibited from products sold in California. In the straw proposal, DTSC also identified nine product categories of concern. Despite identifying the nine product categories, the proposal stated that no products sold in California can contain any of the identified chemicals of concern. The DTSC’s proposal gave manufactures just one year to conduct an assessment of viable alternatives for any chemical of concern contained in their product. The assessment must be shared with DTSC and the public through an online database. Based on the assessment, DTSC will determine if a manufacturer may continue to use the chemical of concern in their product. It is no secret that California is currently in a budget crisis and as a result DTSC is understaffed and lack the appropriate financial resources to implement such a far-reaching program. The burden imposed on manufacturers and DTSC makes this green chemistry proposal nearly impossible to implement.
IPC submitted comments to DTSC regarding our concern with the breadth of the straw proposal and the burden it will place on manufacturers. As an IPC member, you may also wish to subscribe to our monthly EHS newsletter for up-to-date information. Contact Stephanie Castorina at +1 703-522-0225 if you are interested. |
