It is official. California’s Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) Safer Consumer Products regulations, and the program went into effect on October 1, 2013. The regulations mark the much-anticipated regulatory implementation of California’s Green Chemistry Initiative. The regulations and final statement of reasons are available at http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/SCPRegulations.cfm. This new program is a true game-changer, and it will have profound national and international business, regulatory, and commercial implications for consumer product manufacturers and others for the reasons noted in this Washington Watch article. 

On August 28, 2013, California’s Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC or department) Safer Consumer Products Regulations (regulations). The regulations took effect on October 1, 2013. The regulations are the much-anticipated regulatory implementation of California’s Green Chemistry Initiative. The regulations and final statement of reasons are available at http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/SCPRegulations.cfm.

The scope of the regulations, including the four core elements of the regulations—candidate chemicals, priority products (PP), alternatives analysis (AA), and regulatory responses—is discussed.

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) Safer Consumer Products Regulations are now in effect (See "California Cracks Down on Chemicals"). While the most onerous requirements for "responsible entities" (manufacturers, importers, assemblers and retailers) will not hit for a while, companies should consider taking some initial steps now to understand how these regulations may affect operations in the future.

On August 23, 2013, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released changes to the near final Safer Consumer Products Regulations (SCPR). These game-changing regulations took effect October 1, 2013. This column broadly outlines the rule and summarizes the changes.

President Obama won a decisive victory on November 6, 2012, and the forecast for the next four years is clearer now than it was pre-election. This Washington Watch column offers some preliminary observations on what lies ahead for domestic environmental management issues at the legislative and regulatory levels.

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (CDTSC) is one step closer to implementing the state’s Green Chemistry Initiative (GCI), which directs regulators to evaluate safer alternatives to chemicals that are believed to be toxic. These are not “garden variety” chemical regulations that impose a restriction here or there to prevent a perceived risk. Far from it. These regulations are game-changers. They ultimately will transform the way manufacturers select raw materials and make consumer products. As a result, these regulations are likely to influence significantly — and permanently — the way consumer products are conceived, formulated, and distributed. This “Washington Watch” column summarizes the core elements of the proposed Safer Consumer Products Regulations, highlighting significant changes from prior proposals.

In July, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released proposed Safer Consumer Products regulations, the newest iteration of the much-anticipated regulatory implementation of the state’s Green Chemistry Initiative.

In July, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released proposed Safer Consumer Products regulations, the newest iteration of the much anticipated regulatory implementation of California's Green Chemistry Initiative. Below is a summary of the core elements of the proposed regulations -- chemicals of concern (COC), priority products (PP), alternative analysis (AA), and regulatory responses.

On October 31, 2011, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (CDTSC) released an “informal draft” of its Safer Consumer Products Regulations. The draft does a good job of outlining how CDTSC intends to implement key mandates contained in the state’s Green Chemistry Initiative, which directs regulators to evaluate safer alternatives to chemicals that are believed to be toxic. This “Washington Watch” column summarizes key provisions of this precedent-setting, game-changing regulatory development.

On October 31, 2011, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released an informal draft of their Safer Consumer Products Regulations (SCPR). The proposal came after the California Secretary for Environmental Protection instructed DTSC to stop issuing proposed regulations and to instead “take additional time to be responsive to the concerns raised and revisit the proposed regulations.”