How are the Safer Consumer Products Regulations related to the Green Chemistry Law?
In 2008, Assembly Bill 1879 (Chapter 559, Feuer) and Senate Bill 509 (Chapter 560, Simitian), were signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger to implement two key recommendations of the California Green Chemistry Initiative Final Report:
- Accelerate the search for safer products
- Create an online toxics clearinghouse
These two legislative bills comprise the Green Chemistry Law. Assembly Bill 1879 mandated the Safer Consumer Products Regulations and authorized the implementation of the Safer Consumer Products Program.
Senate Bill 509 mandated the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to specify hazard traits, environmental and toxicological endpoints and other relevant data to be included in the Toxics Information Clearinghouse.
The regulations and authorizing statutes (Health and Safety Code sections 25252 and 25253) implement recommendation #5 of the California Green Chemistry Initiative Final Report—Accelerate the Quest for Safer Products. They also create a systematic, science-based process to evaluate Chemicals of Concern, and identify safer alternatives.
