Contact: Warren Robinson, (202) 249-6516
Email:
[email protected]
WASHINGTON (March 13, 2014)
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The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) today released their draft 'priority products list' under the state's Safer Consumer Products Regulations. The American Chemistry Council (ACC) released the following statement in response to today's announcement:
"Today's announcement is the first step in a new and, until now, untested regulatory and scientific analysis process designed to determine a product's risk to consumers and the viability of alternatives. Being included on this list does not mean that the state has determined there is a risk of harm posed by the use of these products.
"We share the goal of chemical safety but are disappointed that today's announcement included products that are already being actively evaluated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Rather than duplicating ongoing federal safety assessments, we urge DTSC to incorporate science-based information from existing sources, including EPA and other authoritative bodies, in order to avoid conflict, gain synergies, minimize costs and maximize benefits.
"The release of the 'priority products list' marks the beginning of a rulemaking that will include an economic analysis, an environmental assessment and a peer review to determine whether the identified chemicals in products will undergo the alternatives assessment process.
"As implementation proceeds, ACC, our member companies and other trade associations have continued to express concerns about whether the program in its current form will achieve the Department's long standing goal of a "practical, meaningful and legally defensible" regulatory program.
"We look forward to our continued engagement with the state to ensure that the program provides consumers access to credible and beneficial information about the products they use and greater confidence in their safety."