Accessibility

The State of California is strongly committed to improved accessibility for all Californians. The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is in the process of modifying its Web site to satisfy all Priority 1 and 2 guidelines, for “AA” compliance with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0. In addition, the DTSC Web site will satisfy Section 508, Subpart B, Subsection 1194.22, Guidelines A-P of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as revised in 1998. View DTSC’s Website ADA Compliance Certification.

In our effort to provide a fully accessible and optimized user experience for all site visitors, DTSC has taken careful measure to ensure an excellent user experience, regardless of the assistive technology being used to access this site or the specific abilities of those individuals seeking access to this site. DTSC’s website is monitored and tested regularly by internal resources and by AudioEye, a third-party provider of Web Accessibility testing and monitoring. As issues of accessibility are identified, results of automated and manual testing are managed through the AudioEye® Digital Accessibility Platform. As new solutions are discovered to improve the user experience, remediation is tracked through the AudioEye system and fixes are implemented to improve the website user experience.

The State of California accepts no responsibility for the content or accessibility of the external Web sites or external documents linked to on this Web site.

Difficulty Accessing Material

If you have a disability and have difficulty accessing any material on this site, please contact us in writing or via telephone or email, and we will work with you to make the information available. Please indicate the nature of the accessibility need, your preferred format (large print, Braille, etc.), the material you are trying to access and its Web location, and how to reach you if questions arise while fulfilling your request. You can direct your requests to:

For email Requests:

accessibility@dtsc.ca.gov

For written requests:

The Office of Civil Rights
Department of Toxic Substances Control
P.O. Box 806
Sacramento, CA 95812-0806

Via telephone:

+1 916 324-3095
+1 800 728-6942 (Toll free)

Website Accessibility Features

Our website has many features that are intended to make the experience of interacting with our website positive and productive for all users, including those with disabilities.

Accessible and Usable Design

Common and Consistent Look and Feel

Most pages on the DTSC website have a similar layout. This makes site navigation easier. Overall, the site is primarily text-based and has a simple, straight-forward design.

“Skip To” Links

A special link is placed at the top of most pages on the site that allows assistive technology to skip or “jump over” the site navigation.

Accessible Images

Images that are included on the DTSC website have “alternative text,” which many assistive technologies can read to the user.

Adjustable Text Size

Our website uses relative font sizes, which allow site visitors to increase the text size on web ages. The text size can be increased with the web browser’s text-size adjustment feature. For more information about text-size adjustments within a specific browser type and version, site visitors should consult available help in their browser.

Effective Search Engine

The DTSC website search engine provides relevant and easy to use search results, allowing quick navigation to the desired content.

Video Captions and Text Transcripts

Video files on the DTSC website are stored on YouTube where viewers can find help with seeing the text. Windows Media Player must be configured to turn ON captions since captions are turned OFF by default. Links to video files without embedded captions have adjacent text transcripts.

Style Sheets

Cascading Style Sheets are used throughout the site for layout, design, and style. This allows the DTSC website to be displayed in a readable fashion on different browser-enabled devices.

Standard Browser Usability Features

Note: Addition of this content is required under California Technology Letter 15-05. This content in this section is derived from the Accessibility Section of the CA.gov Webtools Site.

Contrast Adjustments

High contrast is necessary for many users. The State’s websites uses style sheets and some of the best contrast combinations, black on white, white on dark green, or blue on white. However, some users can see better using high contrast reverse types, such as white on black, or different colors. Below are guidelines for some common web browsers on how the user can customize their own web browser to better view all web pages.

Using a High Contrast Theme (Windows PCs)

Some browsers automatically detect if you’re using a High Contrast theme on your Windows computer and displays everything in your high contrast color scheme. This overrides all other other browser or web page settings, and it affects the browser interface itself (all menus, windows, and dialog boxes) and the content of any web page you visit.

To use a High Contrast theme, go to Start Menu, select Settings. Enter High Contrast in the Search field and select “High Contrast Settings” from the search results. The default is set to None, choose one of the High Contrast themes in the drop down menu and click Apply to save the changes.

Firefox (Quantum)

  1. Open the Menu (3 horizontal lines in the upper right), and select Options.
  2. Under “Language and Appearance,” click the Colors button.
  3. Select colors desired for “Text,” “Background,” “Unvisited Links,” and “Visited Links” (example: white text and black background).
  4. Many web pages set their own colors, so the choices made in Step 3 will have no effect unless you override the colors defined by web pages. To override the colors, select Always from the drop-down menu below the “Override the colors specified by the page with your selections above” text. Click OK to save the changes.
  5. The colors should change on the browser.

Google Chrome

There are a number of steps you can take to configure Chrome to run with custom contrast and colors:

1. Install a Chrome Extension which allows you to specify your own custom color combinations.

  • Quick page action to apply/remove styling overrides on a per page, per domain or global basis (overriding web page colors)
  • Optional background, text, links and visited links color configuration
  • Option for showing/hiding images
  • Option for showing/hiding Flash objects

2. Use a Chrome Theme for some control of the color scheme of the Chrome user interface.

Internet Explorer

  1. Select the Tools menu, then Internet Options.
  2. Under the “General” tab, click the Accessibility button. Select the checkbox to Ignore colors specified on webpages, then select OK to save.
  3. You are returned to the “General” tab. Next select the Colors button and uncheck the Use Windows Colors box.
  4. Use the “Text,” “Background,” “Unvisited Links,” and “Visited Links” boxes to select the colors desired (example: white text and black background). Select OK to save, then OK again on the “General” tab to exit the Internet Options.
  5. The colors should change on the browser.

Fonts

The fonts used on this site are a default size, which allows you to make adjustments according to your preference. The following is the easiest way to change the font size for some common web browsers.

Firefox

Firefox accessibility features

  1. Zoom in by selecting CTRL/+ (plus sign) or zoom out by selecting CTRL/- (minus sign).

Or

  1. Press the Alt key to temporarily bring up the traditional Firefox menus (if not already displayed).
  2. On the menu at the top-left, click View, then hover over Zoom.
  3. Select Zoom Text Only. This only changes the size of text; not images.

Google Chrome

Change text, image, and video sizes (zoom)

On your computer, you can change the size of text, images, and videos for one web page or for all web pages. Use the zoom options to make everything on your current web pages larger or smaller.

  1. Zoom in by selecting CTRL/+ (plus sign) or zoom out by selecting CTRL/- (minus sign).

Or

  1. Select the Customize Chrome menu (vertical dots) to customize your browser.
  2. Zoom options are available directly from the menu that appears. Click the plus sign (+) to zoom in, or the minus sign (-) to zoom out. You can also select the option for fullscreen view.
  3. The changes selected are immediately apparent on the Google Chrome browser windows or tabs you currently have open.

You can adjust the size of everything on the web pages you visit, including text, images, and videos.

  1. Select the Customize Chrome menu (vertical dots) to customize your browser.
  2. Select Settings. In the “Appearance” section, you can adjust the font size or page zoom options:
    1. To Change Everything: Next to Page Zoom, select the zoom option desired from the drop-down menu.
    2. To Change the Font Size Only: Select the Font size drop-down menu and choose the desired size. “Medium” is the default (recommended) size.
  3. The changes automatically save. Close the Settings browser window and the font size chosen should appear.

Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer ease of access options

Zoom on a web page
  1. Zoom in by selecting CTRL/+ (plus sign) or zoom out by selecting CTRL/- (minus sign).

Or

  1. Select the Tools icon found in the upper-right, and select Zoom from the menu.
  2. Select one of the sizes listed (e.g., 200%, 300%), or enter a custom size.
  3. You can also select View from the menu bar (press the Alt key to display if needed), then select Zoom to see the options.
Make text larger or smaller
  1. Press the Alt Key to display the menu bar (if not displayed already).
  2. Select View, and then select Text size.
  3. Choose to make text larger or smaller than the size on the screen. The text displayed on the page will be modified.

Safari Mac

Zoom in on web pages.

You can make text and images larger so they’re easier to view.

  1. Make the web page content larger: Choose View, then Zoom In, and press the Command Key (⌘) – Plus Sign (+), or pinch open on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. To make only the text larger, choose View, then Zoom Text Only before you zoom in.
  3. To set a minimum font size for web pages: Choose Safari, then Preferences. Next select Advanced, then select “Never use font sizes smaller than.” Select the pop-up menu and choose the minimum font size desired.

Or

  1. Choose Safari, then Preferences. Next click the Websites tab.
  2. Select Page Zoom from the left.
  3. On the right side, you’ll see all the sites that Safari remembers the zoom level for as well as pages you have open currently. Here, you can adjust them individually if you like.

Safari iPhone or iPad

  1. On an iPad or an iPhone, open the Settings app.
  2. Choose General, and then go to Accessibility.
  3. Tap on “Larger Text.”
  4. Toggle the switch for “Larger Accessibility Sizes” to the ON position, then drag the Larger Text slider to your desired text size.

Some websites prevent the browser from changing just text size. For those sites, some browsers won’t be able to adjust the font size.

Keyboard Shortcuts

How to Navigate a Page with your Keyboard

To move from link to link or from one navigation heading to the next in Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Opera, or Safari, use the following key equivalents:

  • Action Windows Macintosh
  • Move forward from link to link: Tab Tab
  • Move backward from link to link: Shift + tab Shift + tab
  • Move from one major navigation heading to the next: Tab Tab

How to Move within Drop Downs and from Page to Page with your Keyboard

To move within a drop down menu, or to move forward or back from one web page to another in Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Opera, or Safari, use the following key equivalents:

  • Action Windows Macintosh
  • Move within drop down sub-menus: Up & down arrows 
  • Go forward a page: Alt + Right Arrow + Right Arrow
  • Move backward from link to link: Alt + Left Arrow + Left Arrow

More Keyboard Shortcuts

If you require assistance or wish to report an issue related to the accessibility of any content on this website, please email webcoord@dtsc.ca.gov. If applicable, please include the web address or URL and the specific problems you have encountered.

Adobe Acrobat PDF Files

Most of the documents on the DTSC website are in Adobe Acrobat® Portable Document Format (PDF).

PDF format is used to preserve the content and layout of our hard copy publications. Publications in PDF can only be viewed and printed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader®, version 3.0 or higher. You can download and get help using the Acrobat Reader at the Adobe Systems, Inc. site. The downloadable Acrobat Reader software is available at NO CHARGE from Adobe.

People using screen-reading devices generally are unable to read documents directly in PDF format, unless they have an accessibility plug-in installed on their system along with the Adobe Acrobat Reader. This plug-in is available at NO CHARGE from Adobe. Adobe also has online tools that will convert PDF files to HTML on request. To get the plug-in and latest news about Adobe’s accessibility tools and services, visit the Access Adobe site.

PowerPoint and Word Files

You can view our online publications that are in Microsoft PowerPoint® (.ppt) format if you have any version of PowerPoint installed on your computer. For those who don’t have the software, the Microsoft Corporation offers a FREE PowerPoint file viewer. You can download and get help using the PowerPoint viewer at the Microsoft Download Center.

You can view publications in Microsoft Word® (.doc) format if you have Word, version 6.0 or higher, installed on your computer. Word documents can also be viewed with many other word processing software programs. Additionally, Microsoft offers a FREE Word file viewer that you can download at its Microsoft Download Center.