Monthly Archives: July 2016

On July 15, 2016, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control published its first proposed Priority Products regulation, identifying "children's foam-padded sleeping products containing [the flame retardants] TDCPP or TCEP" as Priority Products under the Safer Consumer Products Regulations. Comments must be submitted no later than August 29, 2016. DTSC also will be holding a public hearing on August 29, 2016. The proposed regulation has been a long time coming. The Safer Consumer Products (SCP) Regulations were first promulgated in 2013, five years after the authorizing statute, AB 1879, was enacted. DTSC first identified children's sleeping products containing the flame…

The California Air Resources Board 2015 reporting for the Consumer Products Program began on July 1, 2016 and ends on November 1, 2016. This is the third year of a three year reporting cycle and is mandatory for all "responsible parties" that sold consumer products in California during the 2015 calendar year. Under the Consumer Products Program, ARB imposes requirements and limits on volatile organic compounds (VOCs), toxic air contaminants (TACs) and greenhouse gases (GHGs) in chemically formulated consumer products. According to ARB, "VOCs that are emitted into the air from consumer products and other sources (motor vehicles, stationary sources, etc.)…

In two separate 60-day notices of violation, the Center for Environmental Health has staked its position as the leader in pursuing Proposition 65 claims involving bisphenol A (BPA). One notice (amended on June 27, 2016), sent to Del Taco Restaurants, involves BPA in thermal receipt paper. It alleges exposures through dermal absorption and through hand-to-mouth contact. The other, directed to DS Services of America and Home Depot U.S.A, alleges exposure to BPA in bottled water for use in water coolers, with direct ingestion as the "primary" route of exposure. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment listed BPA as a…

On June 29, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its First Year Implementation Plan outlining the agency's schedule for implementing The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg), which amended the federal Toxic Substances Control Act and which President Obama signed into law on June 22, 2016. Key aspects of Lautenberg went into effect immediately, including the new chemical standard of review requiring EPA to make an affirmative, risk-based determination on the safety of new chemicals. This review standard excludes considerations of costs and other non-risk factors, and includes consideration of effects on vulnerable populations. According…