California Issues Expanded Draft Priority Product Workplan
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) recently issued a Draft Three-Year Priority Product Work Plan (2018-2020) under the state Safer Consumer Products program (also known as the “green chemistry” program). The draft Work Plan would supersede the current plan adopted in 2015, and lists the categories of products that DTSC intends to investigate under the program for the next three years. Public comments on the draft Work Plan will be accepted until March 9.
The new draft Work Plan includes seven product categories. Five were carried over from the prior Work Plan: (1) beauty, personal care and hygiene products; (2) cleaning products; (3) household, school and workplace furnishings; (4) building products and materials used in construction and renovation; (5) consumable office, school, and business supplies. The two new categories proposed are food packaging and lead acid batteries.
The Work Plan does not specifically identify any product as a regulatory priority, but identifies categories from which DTSC will propose future priority products. DTSC is limited to regulation of products within these categories, except for other products identified by legislation, Executive Order or a petition to DTSC that has been granted.
In investigating potential priority products, DTSC intends to solicit information from manufacturers and their supply chain partners as well as trade associations and others with relevant expertise. They also may make targeted information requests to specific industry sectors; gather information through public workshops and comment periods; and issue “information call ins” as described in the state regulations. This information would be available to the public except for trade secrets protected by the regulations. DTSC expects to engage in discussion with industry experts about product formulations, supply chain considerations, and industrial toxicology studies among other topics that can expand and refine their knowledge for the purposes of selecting priority products.
