Please send a letter to Governor Brown and DTSC Director Debbie Raphael right now!

Background

In 2008, California passed a law mandating a new approach to regulating toxic chemicals in consumer products, which is now known as the Safer Consumer Products Program.

Take action!

We need you to contact DTSC and Governor Brown to ask that important provisions are kept in these regulations: 1) A large Chemicals of Concern list, 2) DTSC must hold on to ability to set case-by-case alternative analysis thresholds based on scientific criteria, and 3) DTSC should have the right to act based on the potential of a chemical to cause harm.

CHANGE sent our urgent letters this week (PDF), and right now we need you to do the same. Use our online action tool to send your letter directly to Governor Brown and DTSC Director Raphael right now, urging them to keep strong on safer products!

If you'd like to send a customized letter from your organization, you can download talking points here (PDF).

Today, CHANGE is pleased to submit our full comments on DTSC’s draft regulations to implement a Safer Consumer Products program under the authority of AB 1879. After diligently participating in this process over the last four years, we're calling for California's Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and Governor Brown to move this program forward. When these draft regulations were released in July 2012, CHANGE responded with hopeful support for a solution-oriented program (see July 27 media statement). Recent editorials by the San Francisco Chronicle and La Opinión reinforce some of the key reasons the public deserves this program as as step closer to safer products, healthier people and environment, and a robust economy.

This program represents many “firsts”. This is the first time an agency has attempted to regulate chemicals, and the products that contain them, by focusing on potential harm based on chemical properties rather than relying on faulty risk assessment models. This also is the first time chemical regulations are attempting to incorporate cumulative exposures, which are a key public health concern and a long-standing issue for environmental justice communities. Finally, this is the first time manufacturers of consumer products will be required to formally answer the question, “Is it necessary to use this hazardous chemical in my product?”

This approach constitutes a long-overdue paradigm shift in how society should manage chemicals. It calls for continuous movement towards a green economy, in which toxic chemicals can be replaced with non-toxic alternatives. Such an approach focuses on public, occupational, and environmental health, maintaining the essential concept of primary prevention.

There are two key components of the draft proposal that are essential in our view and must be kept intact:

1. A large Chemicals of Concern (CoC) list 
2. Science-based, case-by-case alternative analysis threshold levels

Two critical aspects to the program that require improvement are:

1. The high bar for causation required before taking any action
2. The lack of transparency and oversight in Alternative Assessment reports

Within our 30 pages of comments submitted, we're also demanding that “economic impacts” capture all appropriate costs, including costs to public health, occupational health, and the environment. In a Chemical Watch article published today (subscription only), CHANGE advocates commented on a seriously flawed economic analysis released by the California Chamber of Commerce earlier this week. Davis Baltz, Precautionary Principle Project director of Commonweal was quoted in the article commenting, "As usual, externalized costs remain outside the frame of reference for industries with a stake in maintaining their market share above all other concern.” The article also includes Kathryn Alcantar, CHANGE's Campaign Director observing, “While industry asks for yet another delay, children and families are being exposed to chemicals and the public is bearing the health costs." 

Read CHANGE's full analysis of the Safer Consumer Products program in our comment letter submitted to DTSC (PDF). It's time to bring this program into the real world and get safer products underway!

An Important Regulation

It’s time the law that protects consumers is put to use.

La Opinión | October 9, 2012

Four years ago, California legislature passed a law protecting consumers by helping them avoid the use of common objects that are dangerous for their health. And it is time for the law to be implemented.

The California Green Chemistry Initiative (AB1879) establishes a process to evaluate chemicals that are potentially dangerous, obtain alternatives to replace/reformulate them and find a way to limit or reduce exposure to  toxic chemicals.

There are 1,200 chemicals that are “chemicals of concern” according to the Department Toxic Substances Control (DTSC).

The DTSC will designate “priority products”. The producers of these products are the ones who will hold the basic scientific evaluations to find substitutes for dangerous chemicals. In the case that there is no replacement, there are other options spanning from expanding distribution consumer information to prohibiting the product itself.

The DTSC has decided to include only five products in  the “priority product” category for now, which demonstrates moderation in the agency’s strategy.

The law that lays the foundation for the Safer Consumer Products Program establishes the beginning of finding and replacing chemicals that are recognized as hazardous. This is a measure that has already been accepted by industry giants such as Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Clorox and Hewlett-Packard, among others.

Nevertheless, there is a great opposition in the industry, and by some legislators, who affirm that the new regulation is too expensive for the private sector and will affect the fragile state economy. In the meantime, they want to postpone the implementation of the measure.

We believe that this law is important for the health of consumers and their rights to purchase products that are non-hazardous. On the other hand, the chemicals that were once indispensable may not be so today. The implementation of this law will give  industry an incentive to think about substituting ingredients that benefit us all.

Una regulación importante

Es hora de instrumentar esta ley que protege a los consumidores

La Opinión | 10/09/2012

Hace cuatro años, la legislatura de California aprobó una ley de protección al consumidor para evitar el daño que causan numerosos productos perjudiciales a la salud que se encuentran en objetos de uso común. Ya es hora de que se comience a implementar.

La Iniciativa de Químicos Verdes de California (AB1879) establece un proceso para evaluar los químicos que son potencialmente dañinos, obtener alternativas para reemplazarlos en su formulación y halla una manera para limitar o reducir la exposición al químico peligroso.

Se conocen en la actualidad 1,200 llamados "químicos que preocupan", entre ellos el Departamento para el Control de Sustancias Tóxicas

(DTSC) designará "productos prioritarios". Los fabricantes de estos productos son los que tendrán las evaluaciones científicas básicamente para hallar un reemplazo al químico peligroso. De no hallarlo, se plantean opciones que van desde ampliar la información al consumidor hasta la prohibición del producto.

El DTSC ha decidido incluir ahora solamente cinco productos en la categoría "productos prioritarios" lo que muestra mesura en la estrategia de la agencia.

La ley que da pie al programa de Productos Seguros para el Consumidor establece el principio de buscar y reemplazar químicos que son reconocidos como perjudiciales. Este es un enfoque que ya ha sido aceptado por gigantes de la industria como Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Clorox y Hewlett- Packard , entre otros.

Sin embargo, hay una gran oposición de la industria, y de algunos legisladores, quienes afirman que la nueva regulación es muy cara para el sector privado y que perjudicará a la frágil economía estatal . Por lo tanto, ellos desean que se posponga la implementación.

Creemos que esta es una ley importante para la salud del consumidor y su derecho a adquirir productos que no sean perjudiciales. Por otro lado, los químicos que un día fueron imprescindibles hoy pueden no serlo. La implementación de esta ley le dará a la industria el incentivo para pensar en reemplazos de ingredientes que beneficien a todos.

Don't let industry weaken regulations

SF Chronicle | September 30, 2012

After years of wrangling, state legislators have stitched together an agreement to protect consumers from dangerous chemicals in the products they buy.

Under a state law passed in 2008, regulations were supposed to be beefed up by January 2011. Now, despite bipartisan support from lawmakers, the pact is in danger of unraveling at the hands of the powerful chemical industry, which is lobbying every state official it can corner. To dilute this legal protection would be a disservice to California consumers.

That law required the state to make a list of "chemicals of concern," identify possible alternatives and regulate the substances to reduce or eliminate public exposure to them.

The state identified 1,200 potentially toxic chemicals out of the 100,000 substances registered for use in consumer products. The bad stuff includes lead in jewelry (overexposure can result in severe damage to the blood-forming, nervous, urinary and reproductive systems), Bisphenol A in cans (the chemical has been banned from baby bottles because of possible hazards to fetuses, infants, and young children), phthalates in toys and water pipes (they're chemicals used to soften plastics and have been linked to birth defects), and formaldehyde in baby shampoo (a possible cause of skin sensitivity and cancer).

The public has until Oct. 11 to comment on the stronger rules. Then it's up to the state Department of Toxic Substances Control to finish writing the regulations and enact them. The agency needs to hear, emphatically, that these chemicals must be regulated and removed, and the chemical industry can't be allowed to stand in the way of public health.

No, we're not talking about how long our current President has been in office. Or how long a Leap Year baby has to wait for an official birthday...we're talking about how long it's been since California passed the law for safer, toxic-free products in our state. It's time to get this program up and running and we need your help.

Sign the petition for safer products now!

Background

In 2008, California passed a law mandating a new approach to regulating toxic chemicals in consumer products, which is now known as the Safer Consumer Products Program. This law required the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to identify and prioritize a list of chemicals in consumer products, explore their alternatives, and regulate them in order to reduce or eliminate the public’s exposure. For the last four years, both the Schwarzenegger and Brown administration have been working with stakeholders to develop regulations that would implement this program. After several false starts, the administration finally released draft regulations. Right now we have a unique opportunity in California to finally get safer, toxic-free products!

Why?

There is no system in place that ensures products on our store shelves are safe. Toxic flame retardants in our couches, BPA in our baby bottles, and phthalates in our beauty products -- we see new studies every week linking these and other toxic chemicals to serious health concerns. Childhood cancers have increased 20% since 1975, and now, 1 in 88 U.S. children have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. These statistics cannot be explained by genetics alone. We’ve all been forced to live with the fact that we carry a cocktail of toxic and untested chemicals in our bodies knowing that the federal government is powerless to act due to weak and outdated chemical laws. Workers, low income communities and communities of color have been forced to bear an unequal burden of toxic chemical exposure.

CHANGE in action

CHANGE has been working very hard for safer products over the past four years. We’ve participated faithfully in every DTSC workshop and even hosted our own community forums in Fresno, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area. Hundreds of Californians have been engaged through our educational presentations and meetings with decisionmakers in Sacramento and in our local communities. What was the overwhelming conclusion from our members, workers, and businesses? “We want safer products now!”

A step forward

This four year process has led state agencies asking the same questions we’ve been asking the whole time, such as: "Is it necessary to put a cancer-causing chemical in my baby's shampoo?". This new program starts out with those questions, and sets us on a path to safer products. It's not perfect, but it's a step forward.

The Safer Consumer Products program draws on scientific, authoritative lists to look at chemicals we should be concerned about and starts forging ahead for safer products. While there are 1,200 chemicals on this list, it starts with very small steps, examining only a handful of products that may not need the chemical at all, or can use a safer alternative.

We need to get California's program for safer products up and running -- for the health and safety our workers, community, and children. Let's reward the forward-thinking businesses who already recognize safer products are good for the economy.

Why the delay?

The chemical industry and their lobbyists are clinging to dinosaur positions. They've been asking for extensions on comment periods, even though they're the ones with deep pockets and have had four years to analyze and provide their opinion.

Delay delay delay. We've seen it before. And we don't have to stand for it in California. We can lead the nation in the quest for safer products that benefit our health, environment and the economy. Remember, this program starts out with a list of only a handful of products to make sure we’re getting the safest and least toxic alternatives underway -- there’s no reason for delay!

Are you ready for safer products? We are too. Let our state government do what we pay them to do -- ensure safer products are on our shelves now.

Join us and sign the petition for safer, toxic-free products now!

Contact Kathryn Alcantar, CHANGE Campaign Director, to get more involved, kathryn@ceh.org.

Many products in our homes and workplaces -- from furniture to cleaning products, electronics to cosmetics -- contain chemicals that do not have to be tested for health and safety before they are made. Worse still, we know that some products contain chemicals that can harm people’s health and the environment.

Most of us expect more from the products we use every day. We expect companies to ensure that the products we buy won’t   harm us, our children and our communities.

That’s why California passed laws in 2008 requiring the State’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create a program that makes those products safer and healthier. The Safer Consumer Products program is part of the Green Chemistry Initiative to reduce the use of toxic chemicals in the state. It is run by the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). 

The laws say the DTSC must identify and prioritize “chemicals of concern”. Companies making specific products with these chemicals must look for healthier and safer alternatives. After examining the alternatives DTSC must decide how to eliminate or reduce the use of specific toxic chemicals and their products in California.

The right questions lead to better products

This program represents a huge shift in how we deal with toxic chemicals. Until now, the question has been “How much is ok?” Too often, this leads to arguments about how much of a toxic chemical is “safe.”

This new program asks manufacturers who make or use toxic chemicals different questions. Now they have to answer: “Is this chemical necessary” and “What is a healthier and safer way to make this product?”

Forward-thinking businesses already do this. In the process, they have found ways to use less toxic or non-toxic chemicals -- and still make a profit.  

How does the program help you, your family and your community?

 The Safer Consumer Products program advances these key priorities in California:

1. pollution prevention
2. health and safety
3. economic opportunity

 Pollution prevention

It’s expensive to use chemical “risk management” approaches after the fact. The regulations encourage low-cost pollution prevention -- and avoid the toxics in the first place. In turn, this will reduce:

1. hazardous waste;
2. the costs to manage and dispose of hazardous waste, clean up contaminated sites, deal with toxic spills, etc.;
3. air and water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions; and
4. water treatment costs.

 Health and safety

Toxic chemicals affect our health and safety. They contribute to the rising rates of:

1. cancers,
2. infertility, birth defects and other reproductive health problems
3. children’s learning disorders,
4. other illnesses and diseases, and
5. harm to our environments -- the water we drink, the fish in our oceans and rivers, and much more.

 Workers often are the “canaries” for human health effects of toxic chemicals because they make or use consumer products on the job. Our children also are uniquely vulnerable; chemicals affect their growing bodies in different ways than they do adults. 

 The regulations encourage development and use of safer alternatives to harmful chemicals. Less toxic products will:

1. reduce or eliminate hazards to California workplaces, communities and  environments;
2. reduce the health care costs that go with them;
3. protect the health of California workers, their families, and local communities; and
4. give California businesses an advantage -- the information they need to protect their workers and customers.

Economic opportunity

Industries around the world are choosing to use less toxic chemicals in their products and practices. Innovative California businesses are doing the same thing. More can join them, to capture the growing
global market for green products and services.

 The Safer Consumer Products regulations will: 

1. encourage efficiency
2. reduce the costs of product ingredients (less toxic chemicals often are cheaper);
3. eliminate long-term liabilities associated with toxic chemicals and the costs to “fix” the hazards left behind, especially the earth and water we share;
4. reduce costs with less energy use, lower liability insurance, and regulatory burdens; and
5. keep California businesses competitive in this global environment.

Today, the CA Department of Toxic Substances Control released its Draft Safer Consumer Product Regulation -- Download CHANGE Media Statement as a PDF.

California Health, Worker, Consumer, Physician and Environmental Groups Support Strong Safer Consumer Product Draft Regulation

SACRAMENTO – California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) unveiled a groundbreaking, proposed regulation today – the Safer Consumer Product regulation - aimed at protecting consumers from the health risks of toxic ingredients in everyday products while promoting innovation by California businesses. We say it’s about time.

Today, we are hopeful that with the release of this draft regulation, California is taking an important step towards creating safe product rules that will be a national model. For too long, manufacturers have put toxic chemicals in everyday products, with no accountability for their hazards to people or the environment.

For too long, workers, low income communities and communities of color have been forced to bear an unequal burden of chemical exposure.

For too long, the public has been asked to suffer through increasing rates of disease and environmental degradation.

And for too long, we’ve been forced to live with the fact that all of us are carrying a cocktail of toxic and untested chemicals in our bodies knowing that the federal government is powerless to act due to weak and outdated chemical laws.

This program’s approach is very different from the way that chemicals are currently regulated. Instead of debating over how much of a toxic chemical is safe, this program will instead require that manufacturers look for safer alternatives.

“This approach is most welcome and long overdue. For decades, when health threats from a chemical in consumer products would surface, industry would simply replace the toxic substance with new risky and untested chemicals. With these new rules, we will finally break free of this toxic shell game." states Kathryn Alcántar from the Center for Environmental Health.

Davis Baltz of Commonweal adds “we fully support the robust list of chemicals that will be addressed through this program. This is a key component of the program. This list is based on scientific evidence and documentation from recognized authoritative bodies and will send clear market signals to manufacturers that these chemicals are ‘on notice’ because there is evidence of harm but too little information is known about them.”

“We are encouraged that the program is working to address real world exposure scenarios. The fact is, we aren’t just exposed to one chemical at a time but rather to a multitude of chemicals all at once- in the products we use, in our air we breathe, in the food we eat and the water we drink. By acknowledging and trying to address these cumulative exposures, the state will be breaking new and important ground” says Andria Ventura of Clean Water Action.

Gretchen Lee Salter of Breast Cancer Fund states “If a program like this had been in place years ago, we wouldn’t be wondering if the chemicals used to replace bisphenol A (BPA) in can linings and baby bottles are safe enough. We wouldn’t have to pressure manufacturers to get formaldehyde out of baby shampoo. And manufacturers certainly wouldn’t be using known carcinogens as replacements to banned flame retardants.”

Ana Mascareñas of Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles states “There is certainly much work to be done. The devil is in the details and we’ll be spending time combing through the regulations with a fine toothed comb to make sure that this program is living up to its full potential.”

“We are overexposed to dangerous chemicals that not only impact us, but are impacting future generations. The time is now for the state to protect us from dangerous chemicals,” says Dan Jacobson of Environment California.

CHANGE has worked hard to remind DTSC that workers are consumers too. Dorothy Wigmore of Worksafe explained that “workers make and use consumer products, like cleaners. Their exposures to them are higher than other users. So they need to be visible in the regulations, and chemicals they work with often -- ones that cause asthma and allergies, for example, need to be on that list.

As CHANGE works to implement this program, we’ll continue to work with others -- like the forward-thinking responsible businesses that support these regulations, labor unions, and local California communities -- to advocate for a program that signals a new paradigm in how we as a society manage toxic chemicals.

These regulations are an important step towards a greener economy, healthier people, and a less toxic environment in California. We thank DTSC for its tireless work over the last four years. We look forward to continuing our work with DTSC and the administration to protect all Californians and create a healthy and green economy.

Available for Interviews:

Kathryn Alcántar, California Policy Director, Center for Environmental Health, 415-694-9596

Dorothy Wigmore, Occupational Health Specialist, Worksafe, 510-302-1030

Andria Ventura, Program Manager, Clean Water Action, 415-369-9160, x306

Gretchen Lee Salter, Senior Program and Policy Manager, Breast Cancer Fund, 206-619-0973

Ana Mascareñas, Policy & Communications Director, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles, 323-743-3241

Dan Jacobson, Legislative Director, Environment California, 916-446-8062 x105

Davis Baltz, Project Director, Commonweal, 510-684-7594

###

CHANGE is a broad-based coalition of more than thirty environmental and environmental justice groups, health organizations, labor advocates, community based groups, parent organizations, and others working to change chemical policies for the protection of workers, children, public health, the environment, and the economy.

Invite you to participate in a Community Forum on Toxic Chemicals in Consumer Productson February 22, 2012

• How did harmful chemicals find their way into things like baby bottles or toys?

• Why does "product safety" always leave out workers and the communities where they're manufactured?

• How new regulations to reduce toxic chemicals in products might impact you/your community?

Please join us on Wednesday, Feb. 22nd in Fresno to find out how to improve rules being developed by the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals and create safer products, and to voice your concerns about toxics in your community!

We'll have a workshop for groups to learn more, followed by lunch, and a dialogue with the Director of DTSC. Community Forum Details 

WHAT:     Community Forum to Discuss Safer Consumer Product Regulations, part of California’s Green Chemistry Initiative

WHO:       Department of Toxic Substances Control  (DTSC) Director Debbie Raphael, hosted by Californians for a Healthy and Green Economy (CHANGE) 

WHEN:     Wednesday, February 22, 2011 at 10:30am-2:30pm 

Part 1:      Toxics Regulation and how it might affect you/your community            

Part 2:      Presentation and dialogue with DTSC Director Debbie Raphael and staff 

WHERE:    Big Red Church, 2131 N. Van Ness Blvd. Fresno, CA 93704 map: http://g.co/maps/xnkf8 

RSVP:     Christina Medina (Christina@ceh.org) 510-655-3900 ext. 309 

*Free Event *Free Lunch *Spanish translation available *Children Welcome! 

CHANGE is hosting this meeting to discuss key health and environment topics on the department’s informal draft Safer Consumer Products Regulation to implement AB 1879 (read more on DTSC’s website).

California has come a long way towards establishing a landmark program for safer products, which is just one step of the state’s Green Chemistry Initiative. This forum will provide an opportunity to learn about this regulation, and is a critical time to voice any concerns while it is still being developed. Over the past three years, members of the CHANGE coalition have faithfully participated in the public input process for this regulation, and we are proud to host this Southern California forum to continue the public dialogue. 

Background

In 2008, the California legislature set out to address the problem of harmful products in our daily lives by adopting a multi-pronged Green Chemistry Initiative. As part of this initiative, Assembly Bill 1879 (authored by Mike Feuer from Santa Monica) was signed into law. The statute directs CalEPA’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to develop a process for identifying harmful chemicals and products, which will include the analysis and development of safer alternatives.  DTSC is calling the draft regulations the Safer Consumer Products Regulations. 
A version of these regulations was promulgated by DTSC at the end of 2010 in the final days of the Schwarzenegger Administration, but was quickly withdrawn because of sharp criticism from nearly all non-industry groups, including the bill’s author. Under new leadership at DTSC, a revised informal draft regulation was released on October 31st of this year, and the agency is accepting public comments until December 30, 2011.

Community Forum Details

• WHAT: Community Forum to Discuss Safer Consumer Product Regulations, part of California’s Green Chemistry Initiative
• WHO: Department of Toxic Substances Control  (DTSC) Chief Deputy Director Odette Madriago, hosted by Californians for a Healthy and Green Economy (CHANGE)
• WHEN: Friday, December 16, 2011, 3:00pm – 4:30pm
• WHERE: Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (downtown LA) 244 S. San Pedro Street, Suite 505, Los Angeles, CA 90012.Parking in nearby lots ($5-10) and some street parking available
• RSVP: Nourbese Flint (nourbese@bwwla.org, 323-290-5955) or Ana Mascareñas (amascarenas@psr-la.org, 213-689-9170)

Food will be provided. No cost to attend. Spanish translation available. Children welcome.

Please join us for this conversation! Contact Nourbese Flint (nourbese@bwwla.org, 323-290-5955) or Ana Mascareñas (amascarenas@psr-la.org, 213-689-9170) if you have any questions.

As a pregnant woman with a background in toxicology, I find myself already worried about the ubiquity of chemicals in our environment -- knowing that I, like most Americans, have as many as 700 chemicals, including substances linked to serious health problems floating in my body -- it's hard not to be.

This passage from my Huffington Post piece, "A Holiday Gift for Generations to Come," helps relate that it’s not our responsibility to avoid products with toxic chemicals because they should not be there in the first place! It is, however, up to us to tell our representatives we deserve a better environment for our families. And here's what you can do:

• Contact Dianne Feinstein’s DC office on/before December 13th during our National Day of Action (don’t worry, we’ll send you a reminder) to let her know you support the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011
• Attend one of the upcoming meetings (below) to take action on here in California to improve our state laws. 

Our state has come a long way towards establishing a landmark program for safer products, and this is a critical time to provide your input on it. The informal draft Safer Consumer Product Regulation makes up one step of California's Green Chemistry Initiative. Here are three important meetings we need you to attend and make your voice heard:

• Monday, Dec. 5 (Sacramento) – The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) will host a public workshop discuss the informal draft regulations for Safer Consumer Products. Read the full notice (PDF).
• Thursday, Dec. 8 (Sacramento) - The Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee will hold a special hearing on California's Green Chemistry Initiative. 10am, State Capitol, Room 4202.
• Friday, Dec. 16 (Los Angeles) – CHANGE will host a forum with DTSC to discuss the regulations, how they will impact you, and provide an opportunity to voice your concerns.

Please contact me (kathryn@ceh.org) if you plan to attend any of these meetings so you can meet with other CHANGE advocates!

We want to protect Californians by removing the most pervasive and hazardous chemicals from the market, promoting the use of safer/healthier alternatives, and protecting the health of workers, fenceline communities, and those facing the greatest hazards. This proposed California regulation can help move us toward a less toxic, greener and more vibrant economy in our state -- let’s not waste this opportunity!

Please let us know if you can join us in Sacramento or LA, and keep an eye out for more updates on chemical reform news. 

Thank you for joining us in taking action,

Kathryn Alcántar
CHANGE Campaign Director

P.S. -- Don't forget to read A Holiday Gift for Generations to Come, comment, and share with your networks!

We want to protect Californians by removing the most pervasive and hazardous chemicals from the market, promoting the use of safer/healthier alternatives, and protecting the health of workers, fenceline communities, and those facing the greatest hazards. We all deserve a chemical policy framework that accomplishes these goals.

We'll be adding more information and analysis as the public meetings unfold. Please sign up here to receive updates from CHANGE.

Read more about CHANGE’s stance about Green Chemistry solutions and chemical policy reform at “Essential Building Blocks of Green Chemistry”. It comes from the people and groups who are part of CHANGE. We’re now a broad-based coalition of more than 30 environmental and environmental justice groups, health organizations, labor advocates, community based groups, parent organizations, and others working to change chemical policies in order to protect workers, children, public health, the environment, and the economy.

To read the draft regulation, visit the DTSC website. DTSC also developed a series of short videos to introduce this draft. Director Deborah Raphael introduces them here:  

DTSC has a schedule for comments about these draft regulations. It is also holding a workshop in which you can participate. Read the full notice on DTSC’s website (PDF). Key dates are as follows (all official information on the DTSC website):

• Nov. 14-15 - Green Ribbon Science Panel meeting in Sacramento to respond to the draft regulations. Read more on DTSC’s website.
• Nov. 28  - If you have specific questions that you would like to have addressed at the Dec. 5th workshop, submit them via e-mail to gcregs@dtsc.ca.gov by Nov. 28.
• Dec. 5 – DTSC is hosting a workshop for members of the public to discuss the scope and content of the informal draft regulations with DTSC. Read the full notice.
• Dec. 8 - Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee special hearing on California's Green Chemistry Initiative
• Dec. 30 - The deadline for final comments on the draft regulations. DTSC is requesting that you provide written comments electronically to gcregs@dtsc.ca.gov or mail them to the address on DTSC's website.

These regulations can move us toward a less toxic, greener and more vibrant economy in California. Let’s not waste this opportunity! Join us in making sure our health and the environment are protected, and that we are supporting truly green innovation.

Sign up to receive updates from CHANGE!