Under new revisions to California’s Regulation for Safer Consumer Products, personal-care products would be among the first goods to undergo evaluation for hazardous chemicals, which could require reformulation of products sold in the state.

Regulation Revisions

Personal-care products are among three product categories on which California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control will focus for the first five years.
The regulation is slated to become law Jan. 1, 2011.
Interested parties have until Dec. 3 to comment on the revised regulation.

Personal-care products, as well as children’s products and household cleaning products, would be the only product categories under review by the state for the first five years of the regulation, which is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1, 2011.

In selecting those categories, the Department of Toxic Substances Control took into consideration the volume of certain chemicals in commerce in California, the potential for exposure represented by the categories and possible side effects in sensitive populations, including infants and children.

“Chemicals of Concern”

Upon closer inspection, products in the selected categories that contain substances the state deems “chemicals of concern” could be named “priority products." Such items would have to undergo extensive assessments to evaluate their toxicity and potentially identify alternative formulation options, according to the regulation.

Chemicals of concern will be determined based on the “hazard traits” they exhibit, such as carcinogenicity or reproductive toxicity.

Whether or not a substance has been linked to those traits will be determined by consulting lists such as that compiled for California's Proposition 65, the National Toxicology Program’s Report on Carcinogens and the European Commission’s list of carcinogens and reproduction toxicants under Annex VI of Regulation 1272/2008, which addresses classification, labeling and packaging of chemicals.

Products that do not contain chemicals of concern would not be subject to scrutiny.

After Jan. 1, 2016, there would be no limit on the number or types of product categories that could be flagged for special attention, the regulation indicates.

Released Nov. 16, the DTSC 's revised regulation defines personal-care products as “consumable product[s] that [are] intended to be used in the topical care and/or grooming of the body and hair and that [are] rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into or otherwise applied to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance without affecting the body’s structure or functions.”

Part of the state’s Green Chemistry Initiative, the Regulation for Safer Consumer Products is designed to address chemical exposure risks in consumer products and potentially require manufacturers to reformulate (Also see "Proposed California Regulation Could Require Product Reformulation" - HBW Insight, 27 September, 2010.).

State Says Burdens Reduced

The revised regulation incorporated input from public comments and testimony from a Nov. 1 hearing, according to the DTSC.

For example, DTSC addressed concerns industry had about keeping trade secrets confidential throughout an alternatives assessment.

DTSC now says the revised text “reduces the scope and sensitivity of the information sought [and] thus at the same time greatly reduces burdens regarding assertions of trade secret privilege.”

The regulation also retains an exemption for priority products with chemicals of concern making up 0.1% or less of the product by weight, but appears to close the loophole from the last version which gave DTSC license to deny the exemption as it saw fit.

DTSC notes that it “remains of the opinion that a de minimis level exclusion from the substantive requirements of the regulations is necessary in order for the identification and prioritization of chemicals of concern in priority products to be workable and focused on the highest risks posed and on risks that can actually be addressed through the alternatives assessment and regulatory response processes.”

Interested parties have until Dec. 3 to comment on the revised regulation.

By Lauren Nardella

Revised California Consumer Product Regulation Targets Personal Care

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