California's Green Chemistry Initiative

California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has put forth a green chemistry proposal that will regulate thousands of chemicals in products sold in the state

Current Status
On October 31, 2011 California's Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released its third iteration of a draft (informal), Safer Consumer Products Alternatives Regulation, or Green Chemistry Regulation. Unfortunately the draft reverts back to DTSC's original proposal that attempts to regulate thousands of chemicals in every consumer product, including electronics, sold in the state of California. While the October 31 proposal is an informal, unofficial draft regulation, it is troublesome that DTSC has virtually ignored industry comments, including IPC's, over the past three years and put forward a proposal that will be ineffective and require a substantial amount of resources from both industry and DTSC. DTSC is accepting comments on the proposed draft until December 30, 2011. IPC will be submitting comments.

The informal draft 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 draft regulation, DTSC will be responsible for identifying and prioritizing both COCs and priority products while manufacturers are responsible for carrying out alternatives assessments.

On December 28, 2011, IPC submitted comments to California's DTSC on their proposed informal draft regulation.

Overview
The Safer Consumer Product Alternatives draft regulation, also known as California's Green Chemistry Initiative, was originally 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. However, DTSC has ultimately put forward proposals that do not accomplish these goals.

The first part of the draft regulation identifies and prioritizes chemicals. Chemicals that exhibit a "hazard trait" and are "reasonably expected to be contained in consumer products found in California" would be 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. In addition, any interested stakeholder may petition DTSC to consider a chemical or a chemical product combination for prioritization.

The next segment of the draft regulation discusses the identification and prioritization of products for future inclusion in the regulation. Products that contain COCs will be identified by DTSC based on prioritization factors. Products that meet these prioritization factors will be added to the Priority Products list. Both the Priority Products and COC lists will be open to public comment and constantly evolve.

The final portion of the draft regulation discusses requirements for manufacturers to conduct alternatives assessments (AAs) on COCs in Priority Products. If a manufacturer of a Priority Product that contains a COC is not exempt, they must submit an AA to DTSC.

Timeline

Background
California's Green Chemistry Initiative (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 proposed regulations released thus far would prohibit a long list of chemicals from virtually every product sold in the state of California. DTSC originally intended the GCI 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.

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