DTSC announces Priority Products workshops and releases Draft Regulatory Concepts.
California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has announced a series of Priority Product workshops intended to engage members of the public before official rulemaking for the initial Priority Products begins. Along with the announcement, DTSC released a document on “Priority Products Draft Regulatory Concepts and Topics for Stakeholder Input,” [PDF] to elicit input from the public during the workshops. The forthcoming Priority Products rules will be a significant step in implementing DTSC’s Safer Consumer Products Program.
The Draft Regulatory Concepts document contains several questions for stakeholder input, on the following topics:
- Priority Product description (e.g., Are the definitions and terms clear and unambiguous as to which related products are included and excluded?);
- Chemicals of Concern and alternatives (e.g., Are there other Candidate Chemicals in this product that you suggest be considered?); and
- Market information (e.g., What is the market presence of the Priority Product?).
The document also describes the Priority Products, similar products that are excluded, and the chemicals of concern. Notably, the agency now includes bedside sleepers and co-sleepers as new examples of children’s foam padded sleeping products, explaining that these products were not included in the “Priority Product Profile” but were “later found to meet DTSC’s intent for this Priority Product.”
Three workshops have been announced, to take place in May through early June, in Sacramento, Oakland, and Los Angeles. The agenda for the first meeting, in Sacramento on May 7, is available here [PDF]. DTSC will accept written comments from the public submitted by June 30, 2014, so that the agency can consider them before releasing the proposed rulemaking package.
