[GPSCC-chat] Fw: Green Chemistry Becomes Law in California

[Caroline Yacoub]

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Subject: Green Chemistry Becomes Law in California
  


California's green chemistry law goes into effectBy Sustainable Business News 
Published September 30, 2013
Email | Print | Single Page View 
Tags: Green
Chemistry & Toxics, Policy &
Regulations 
  

http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2013/09/30/californias-green-chemistry-law-goes-effect



Starting Oct. 1, California's Safer Consumer Products law (also called the Green
Chemistry Initiative) goes into effect, with the goal of making hundreds
of commonplace consumer items safer -- from shampoos and cosmetics to
cleaning supplies and food packaging.

Using the muscle of the biggest consumer market in the U.S., California
wants to reduce toxic chemicals in consumer products, create new business
opportunities in green chemistry and reduce the burden on individuals and
businesses in having to struggle to identify what's in the products they
buy for their families and customers.

The law represents a sea change in how products are made safer. Instead of trying to
determine how toxic specific chemicals are, it asks why they are
necessary at all.

Instead of banning specific chemicals from particular products, such as
bisphenol A in baby bottles, they are looking at classes of
products.

The Department of Toxic Substances Control has prepared a list of about
1,200 toxic chemicals by aggregating authoritative sources. The next step
is to develop a list of about 200 products that contain chemicals of
greatest concern -- that pose the most danger to health and/or the
environment.

By April, they will select up to five "priority products" for
manufacturers to reformulate into safer products using green
chemistry.  

If manufacturers wish to sell those products in California, they must
perform a detailed analysis that either justifies their current
formulation or results in a safer alternative. The impact will be widespread -- across global
supply chains of manufacturers. The lifecycle evaluation will be based
not only on risk during product use, but also during manufacture and
disposal.

Priority products will be determined based on factors such as how widely
a product is used, the extent of public exposure and how the product
eventually is disposed.  

The first priority products under consideration are: nail polish (toluene
interferes with reproduction); carpet adhesive with formaldehyde (a
carcinogen) and mercury in fluorescent light bulbs, Debbie Raphael,
director of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, told the Los Angeles Times.

Stakeholders will be able to provide input through the typical regulatory
process, which requires a hearing before making final decisions.

The rules are "practical, meaningful and legally defensible"
against potential industry lawsuits, Raphael told the Los Angeles Times.
The program will grow slowly and carefully and expand over time as kinks
are worked out, she says.

States long have led on banning toxic chemicals -- 18 states have passed
some 80 laws over the past decade.

Congress has yet to pass legislation that would overhaul the 1976 Toxic
Substances Control Act (TSCA). The Safe Chemicals Act was introduced for
the third time this year -- it would curtail chemicals used in everyday
products with known links to cancer, learning disabilities, infertility
and more, while creating incentives for new, safer chemicals.

The shift to green chemicals also would be a job creator in an industry
that's been shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs.

This year, more than 160 countries agreed to phase out brominated flame
retardants at the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants
-- except for the U.S. and a few other countries that don't participate.
Flame retardants are in a vast range of products including infant and
toddler products, and upholstery, bedding, electronics and insulation.
The U.S. did, however, pass legislation on formaldehyde.

This article originally appeared at Sustainable Business News.

Green beaker image by pedrosala via Shutterstock.
  

SustainableBusiness.com provides global news and networking services to
help green business grow. Rather than covering a slice of the industry,
it offers visitors a unique lens on the field as a whole, covering all
sectors that impact sustainability: renewable energy/efficiency, green
building, green investing and organics.

Read more from Sustainable Business News.
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