Are You Familiar With California's New Safer Consumer Products Regulations Yet?
Time to Get To Know California’s Safer Consumer Products Regulations
By Robert Piller
Austin, Texas: On October 1, 2013, California’s new Safer Consumer Products Regulations goes into effect.
According to the California Health and Safety Code 25251, a consumer product is any “product or part of the product that is used, bought, or leased for use by a person for any purpose,” meaning a huge universe of products will be potentially affected.
This broad legislation covers over 1,200 potential chemicals, compounds and derivatives.
According to an excellent report in GreenBiz.com, “A preliminary target list of about 230 chemicals is expected to be issued in mid-September. This list will give some insight into the breadth of products that will be effected. All companies selling products in California will need to be aware of whether their products contain one of these chemicals, and know who in their supply chain (manufacturer, importer, assembler or retailer) will be responsible for responding to requests from the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and filing required notices regarding their presence.
It is expected that requests for toxicity data on this first set of chemicals should be arriving in product seller and manufacturer’s mailboxes shortly after Oct. 1.”
The first 60 days of the law will set off a firestorm of activity and paperwork.
According to the GreenBiz.com report, “Every business involved in the sale of the selected product in California potentially could have a compliance obligation, if prior contractual arrangements have not been made. Each business will have to supply a document termed the “Priority Product Notification” 69503.7, which must include:
• Name and contact information.
• Statement that business is product manufacturer, importer, assembler or retailer.
• Type, brand name(s) and product name(s) sold.
• If a component, a description of all known product in which the component is used.”
If you sell products in California, it would be wise to familiarize yourself with the Safer Consumer Products Regulations as soon as possible and to identify the chemicals used in your supply chain.
The Green Chemistry statute and Safer Consumer Product (SCP) Regulations regulations give the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control broad enforcement authority, including the right to publish a list of non-compliant entities on a public website, and to impose civil and criminal penalties of up to $25,000 per violation.
These two links are a good place to start:
CA.gov Toxic Substances Control
