California DTSC announces its first 3 draft 'priority products'

California's Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has announced its first three draft "priority products" under the state's Safer Consumer Products (SCP) Regulations.

The three products are:

1. Children's foam padded sleeping products containing Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)phosphate (also known as TDCPP  or chlorinated Tris), a flame retardant and carcinogen under California's Proposition 65 law. Children and infants are especially vulnerable to its carcinogenic and other chronic health effects.
   
2. Spray polyurethane foam systems containing unreacted diisocyanates. SPF systems are used for home and building insulation, weatherization, sealing and roofing. Diisocyanates can irritate the respiratory tract, cause asthma and cancer and are known skin irritants. They are a leading cause of occupational asthma.
   
3. Paint stripper containing Methylene Chloride. Methylene chloride is an acute neurotoxin and is carcinogenic. Since 2000, multiple worker deaths have occurred as a result of exposure to stripping agents containing methylene chloride.

DTSC selected these three draft priority products because they contain at least one of more than 1,100 toxic chemicals that the Department identified as having the potential to cause significant harm to people or the environment. The products also are widely used and create the potential for significant public exposure to these chemicals.

In its notice, DTSC clarified, it "is not banning these products," rather, it is starting a process to understand the products' use, manufacture and sale, along with emerging science, in order to make a final determination about listing the products.

The Priority Products won't be final until a rulemaking process is complete, adopting regulations to list the products, which could take up to a year. After that, manufacturers will notify DTSC if they make a Priority Product. Manufacturers who want to sell them in California will conduct an "Alternatives Analysis" to determine if feasible safer ingredients are available.

A presentation from the SCP on these Priority Products will be included at DTSC's quarterly meeting on 17 March 2014, at 9 am PDT, in Byron Sher Auditorium in the Cal EPA building, 1001 I St., Sacramento.

For more on these Priority Products, or on the SCP Regulations, Ask Our Experts!