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Health
California Releases New Regulations for Safer Consumer Products
California is taking the lead in phasing out toxic chemicals from widely used consumer products.
The state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control released the proposed regulations on Friday.
Department Director Debbie Raphael says the regulations represent years of collective work by stakeholders around the world.
“The world is watching us today to see what California’s next step will be,” Raphael said. “Because while these are groundbreaking for California, we are certainly not standing alone.”
The new rules will target the five most toxic chemicals in the products where they can do the most harm, such as formaldehyde in carpet adhesive or dibutyl phthalate (DBP) in teething rings.
And they would give regulators the tools to question whether a toxic chemical is necessary and whether there are safer alternatives.
The announcement begins a 45-day public comment period to hear evidence about which chemicals and products should be included in the regulations.
