The Department of Toxic Substances Control has released a draft of what would be its second Priority Product Work Plan laying out product categories that it will study for possible identification as "priority products" under the Department's Safer Consumer Products (SCP) Program. The new plan carries five product categories over from the Department's previous work plan, drops two categories from that plan, and adds two new ones—food packaging and lead acid batteries.
The regulations implementing the SCP Program require the adoption of a Work Plan that:
The first Work Plan was adopted in April 2015 and covered the three year 2015-2017 period [see DTSC's Final Priority Product Work Plan Retains Same Seven Candidate Categories, April 30, 2015]. That Plan contained seven broad product categories. The proposed plan, the second Work Plan, will cover the period 2018-2020. In selecting the product categories for the upcoming plan the Department was guided by four "policy statements" that are designed to meet the Department's goals:
Product Categories
Categories Carried Over
The draft Work Plan contains a general description of each product category together with a listing of the "chemicals of concern" found in one or more of the products in the category. There are five categories carried over from the 2015-2017 Work Plan:
The category descriptions and chemicals of concern for these product categories are generally the same as contained in the description of the category in the 2015-2017 Work Plan, although there have been some minor changes and some reconfiguration of the groups.
Categories Dropped
Two categories from the 2015-2017 Work Plan have been dropped:
The Department does not indicate why it dropped these two categories. However, during the comment period on the 2015-2017 Plan there were numerous objections raised by fishing groups to the inclusion of fishing and angling equipment.
Categories Added
The Department added this category, because it was instructed to do so by Governor Brown and the state Legislature last year.
What's Next
The inclusion of these product categories in the Work Plan does not mean that all or any of them will ultimately be designated as a priority product. The 2015-2017 Plan included potentially hundreds of chemical-product combinations. So far only three priority products have been formally proposed and only one of those, children's bedding containing flame retardants, has actually been identified as a Priority Product.
The Department will accept comment on the draft Plan through Friday, March 9. It will also hold a workshop at CalEPA Headquarters in Sacramento on Monday, February 26 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Name | Date |
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DTSC's Final Priority Product Work Plan Retains Same Seven Candidate Categories | Apr 30, 2015 |