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Washington State Department of Ecology Proposes Children’s Safe Products Act Regulations

The Washington Department of Ecology has announced a proposal to update the Children’s Safe Products Act (CSPA) reporting rule language, update the Chemicals of High Concern to Children (CHCC) list, evaluate flame retardants identified in RCW 70.240.035, evaluate additional chemicals recommended by stakeholders to be added or removed from the list, and respond to stakeholder comments regarding the changes. All changes to the rule, including changes to the CHCC list, are open to public comment until May 12th, 2017. Additionally, there will be a public hearing held on April 25th, 2017 at 10 am PST.

The CSPA, codified at Chapter 70.240 RCW, is a part of the Washington State Department of Ecology’s “Reducing Toxic Threats” Initiative, which aims to protect people and the environment by preventing exposure to hazardous chemicals. The CSPA limits the amount of lead, cadmium, and phthalates in children’s products, as well as the amounts of certain flame-retardants in children’s products and residential upholstered furniture. Additionally, it requires manufacturers of children’s products that are sold in Washington to notify the Department of Ecology if their products contain a CHCC. Chemicals are identified as CHCCs in consultation with the Washington Department of Health.

The Department has proposed the addition of six flame-retardant and the addition of fifteen other chemicals to the CHCC list. The Department also is proposing to delete phthalic anhydride, octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4) and molybdenum from the list. Finally, under the proposed rule manufacturers of children’s products would be required to report on CHCCs in their products at the end of January 2019.

This blog article was researched and written by Brown University Class of 2018 student Aisha Keown-Lang. Ms. Lang is studying biology and political science at Brown University with the goal of going into bioethics and public health. Her special interest in genetics stems from her research in the Li Lab at UCSF and the Gerbi Lab at Brown. After having worked with children in the Providence school system for nearly three years, her commitment to improving scientific literacy and expanding health services in underserved communities remains strong. Ms. Lang is currently a writer for Brown’s Science Cartoon Program (SciToons), which aims to communicate scientific research and ideas to a diverse audience.

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Ms. Grimaldi maintains a diverse environmental law practice focusing on chemical and product regulation and litigation defense. Her practice areas include Proposition 65, California's Safer Consumer Products Regulations, California's Rigid Plastic Packaging Container Act and the federal Toxic Substances Control Act. Ms. Grimaldi graduated from the University of California Hastings College of the Law magna cum laude and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Bacteriology from University of California, Davis. Prior to attending law school, she worked as a research assistant in laboratories at the University of California, San Francisco Cancer Research Institute and at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine.