States - TSCA

DTSC Finalizes Regulatory Responses Required For Spray Foam Systems

California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has finalized proposed “regulatory response” mandates for makers of certain spray polyurethane foam (SPF) systems under the state’s Safer Consumer Products (SCP) green chemistry program, including a scaled back requirement for manufacturers to fund safer alternatives. In an Oct. 7 announcement and an Oct. 6 notice of final determination , DTSC details three required regulatory response actions that manufacturers of SPF systems with unreacted methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) must take to continue selling...

Court Grants Permanent Injunction On Prop. 65 Warning For Titanium Dioxide

A federal district court is ordering a permanent injunction on the California Proposition 65 cancer warning for titanium dioxide, finding that the industry plaintiff has met all the same tests it did when the judge issued a preliminary injunction in 2024 and that the warning language is unconstitutional and violates the First Amendment. “The Court finds there have not been sufficient developments in the evidentiary record or to the warning language since its prior Order to change the conclusion that...

Industry Urges DTSC To Scale Back Plan To List Microplastics Under SCP

Industry groups are urging California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to scale back an ambitious plan to add microplastics to the “candidate chemicals” list under its Safer Consumer Products (SCP) green chemistry program, arguing in part that the plan’s “overly broad definition” for the material could actually hurt consumers. [We] urge DTSC to consider the scientific nuances of microchemistries and implement exclusions to the definition for safety and sustainability-driven innovations,” writes Dan Selechnik, director of environmental health and safety...

Lawyers Warn Of Surge In Prop. 65 Enforcement Notices For BPS Exposure

Industry attorneys are warning clients about a surge in notices to sue under California’s Proposition 65 toxic warning label law for alleged exposure to bisphenol-S (BPS), a chemical used in plastics but also in thermal receipt paper, packing slips, stickers and shipping labels. “A review of the Prop. 65 60-Day Notice database maintained by the California Attorney General’s [AG] office reveals a dramatic spike in BPS-related notices in the first half of 2025. Over 325 notices for BPS have been...

Industry Faults DTSC Proposal To Accelerate Green Chemistry Listings

Industry groups are raising a host of concerns about the California toxics department’s proposed rules to implement a law to speed the process for listing chemicals under the Safer Consumer Products (SCP) green chemistry program, require companies to submit more information about chemicals, expand a petition process to list chemicals, and more. “With its regulatory authority over essential products that have critical roles in protecting health and hygiene, it is important for” the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) “to...

DTSC Proposes Microplastics As Candidate For Priority SCP Program Listing

California’s toxics department is proposing to add microplastics to the “candidate chemicals” list under its Safer Consumer Products (SCP) green chemistry program, which would allow officials to identify consumer products containing or generating microplastics for future evaluation and possible regulation as “priority products.” “The science is clear: microplastic pollution poses a growing threat to our environment, our health and our planet. Adding microplastics to the Candidate Chemicals List is the first step to finding safer alternatives to these substances that...

Citing EPA Findings, Industry Faults DTSC’s Proposed Acids & Bases Review

Industry groups are challenging the California toxics department’s proposal to add 12 acids and bases used in personal care and cleaning products to its “candidate chemicals” list for possible regulation under the Safer Consumer Products (SCP) green chemistry program, arguing in part that EPA has approved some of the compounds as safe. The Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA) “cautions that several of the listed chemicals are listed on EPA’s Safer Chemicals Ingredient List (SCIL), which is a list of...

Bonta Plans To Appeal Ruling Expected To Boost Industry’s Prop. 65 Suits

California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) is planning to appeal the recent landmark federal court ruling permanently blocking Proposition 65 cancer warnings for the food chemical acrylamide, a decision industry attorneys say will spur additional First Amendment suits against a variety of other food-related product-warning requirements. Bonta filed a June 2 notice with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California stating that he is appealing the ruling in California Chamber of Chamber (CalChamber) v. Bonta to...

California Senate Committee Advances Katie Butler’s DTSC Appointment

The California Senate Rules Committee has unanimously advanced acting state toxics department chief Katie Butler’s appointment to officially head the agency that oversees the state’s green chemistry program as well as hazardous waste management and contaminated site cleanups. The committee voted April 30 following Butler’s confirmation hearing, and the full Senate is expected soon to give its approval to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) appointment of Butler to be director of the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). During her confirmation...

DTSC Proposes 12 Acids & Bases For Green Chemistry Program Review

California’s toxics department is proposing to add 12 acids and bases used in personal care and cleaning products to its “candidate chemicals” list for potential regulation under its Safer Consumer Products (SCP) green chemistry program, drawing early interest from industry representatives. In an April 23 email notice, the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) announces it has scheduled a May 15 “virtual workshop” on its proposal to add the following acids and bases to the candidate chemical list: potassium hydroxide,...

Judge Orders Permanent Injunction On Prop. 65 Acrylamide Warnings

A federal district court judge has ordered a permanent injunction on California’s Proposition 65 cancer warnings for the food chemical acrylamide, siding with the California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) in its long-running free speech suit by finding the warnings are unconstitutional. The ruling is another victory for industry and business groups that have challenged Prop. 65 warnings for other chemicals claiming First Amendment violations, including glyphosate and titanium dioxide . “The Court finds that the Prop 65 warnings for dietary...

California Advances Bill To Ban Certain Chemicals From Food Packaging

California lawmakers are advancing a bill that would ban, beginning in 2027, the sale of food packaging that contains intentionally added antimony trioxide, bisphenols, or ortho-phthalates, amid opposition from industry groups that argue the chemicals are safe and any restrictions should only come after a review by the state’s green chemistry program. The bill, AB 1148 by Assemblywoman LaShae Sharp-Collins (D), is scheduled to be heard April 22 by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, after having passed the Assembly Environmental Safety...

California Bill Banning Antibacterial Soap Faces Escalating Opposition

A bill advancing in the California Legislature that would ban the sale of antibacterial consumer hand soap and body wash, beginning in 2028, faces escalating opposition from national and state business groups, amid clashing views about whether the products provide more protection than regular soap. The bill, AB 916 by Assemblyman Alex Lee (D-San Jose), represents a “critical step in protecting the public from hand soap and body wash ingredients that have known human health risks and environmental harm and...

California Lawmaker Scales Back Bill Banning Microbeads From Products

A California lawmaker is scaling back her bill to ban the sale of cleaning products, cosmetics, paint and coatings that contain microbeads starting in 2027 by agreeing to remove paint and coatings from the ban and delaying the start dates for remaining bans by two years, though the measure is still being opposed by major industry groups. The bill, AB 823 by Assemblywoman Tasha Boerner (D-Encinitas), was approved April 7 by the Assembly Natural Resources Committee and now moves to...

California Bill Bans Microbeads From Cleaning Products, Cosmetics, Paint

A California lawmaker has introduced a bill to ban the sale of plastic microbeads in cleaning products, cosmetics and paint starting in 2027, arguing it would prevent trillions of plastic particles from entering the environment and posing risks to public health. “This is very much a movie becoming reality. Plastic has overtaken our world, from the soil that grows our food to the water we drink, the air we breathe, and even the products we use daily,” said Assemblywoman Tasha...

Citing TSCA, Industry Fights Washington Plan To Regulate PCBs In Inks

Printing and paper industry groups are opposing Washington state’s push to regulate inadvertent polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in printing inks, arguing in part that such action is preempted by TSCA and that the state has failed to show that alternative ink formulations are necessary or available. In comments submitted to the Washington Department of Ecology late last year, several industry groups also cited EPA’s denial of Washington’s petition seeking tougher rules under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for PCBs in...

Industry Groups Oppose Washington Focus On Formaldehyde In Products

Industry groups are urging Washington state regulators to reconsider possible regulation of formaldehyde in cleaning and household care products, noting any action the state takes could be preempted by EPA, arguing formaldehyde plays an essential role in product safety and questioning the science the state is relying on. The comments respond to a draft report by the Washington Department of Ecology that flagged formaldehyde in cleaning and household care products for possible regulation under the state’s Safer Products for Washington...

Attorneys Seek Preemption As States Remain Active On Chemicals

Industry attorneys are suggesting Congress clarify elements of TSCA’s language preempting state actions on chemicals EPA regulates as state regulators and legislators continue to act in this area, a point emphasized in environmentalists’ annual report on pending state legislation on various chemicals. Preempting a patchwork of dissimilar state policies was a primary driver for industry to participate in Congress’ reform of the original 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), a multi-year process that culminated in bipartisan legislation signed into law...

Prop. 65 Panel Lists Vinyl Acetate As Carcinogen Over Industry Opposition

A scientific panel in California is listing vinyl acetate, a widely used chemical, as a carcinogen under the state’s Proposition 65 toxic warning label law, despite industry arguments that no other “authoritative” bodies around the world have found the compound is carcinogenic to humans or animals. The state’s Carcinogen Identification Committee (CIC), which is administered by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), voted unanimously at its Dec. 19 meeting to determine that vinyl acetate is “clearly shown, through...

Stakeholders Clash Over Planned SCP Listing Of Nail Products With MMA

Industry groups are opposing the California toxics department’s proposal to list nail products containing methyl methacrylate (MMA) as a “priority product” under the Safer Consumer Products (SCP) green chemistry program and faulting its planned concentration threshold for the chemical, while public-health groups support the listing and hope to tighten it. In particular, the two sides are at odds over a proposed “alternatives analysis” threshold of 1,000 parts per million (ppm), which would require companies to identify safer substitutes for MMA...

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