Priority Products

A Priority Product is a consumer product identified by DTSC that contains one or more chemicals – known as Candidate Chemicals – that have a hazard trait that can harm people or the environment. A proposed list of three product-chemical combinations was released on March 13, 2014. This initial Priority Products list is the first set of product-chemical combinations DTSC has proposed for regulation under the Safer Consumer Products regulations. Publication of this draft list of products imposes no new regulatory requirements on manufacturers until DTSC finalizes it by adopting regulations. For more information, read DTSC's Draft Initial Priority Products List.

DTSC further evaluates the adverse impacts of Candidate Chemicals in specific products on humans, wildlife, and the environment by considering additional factors such as impacts on sensitive populations, waste and end-of-life impacts, and the availability of safer alternatives. The Department does not use a numerical weighting or ranking system.

DTSC considers two primary factors in identifying product-chemical combinations:

• Potential exposure to the Candidate Chemicals in the product
• Potential for exposure to cause significant or widespread adverse impacts

After the initial Priority Products are selected, DTSC will pick Priority Products from within seven consumer product categories identified in the 2018-2020 Priority Product Work Plan. The Work Plan identifies key policy objectives and priorities used to select the categories that will be used to prioritize DTSC decisions when selecting the next proposed Priority Products. The policy objectives and priorities will be used to identify products that:

• Provide clear pathways for exposure to one or more Candidate Chemicals;
• Contain chemicals that have been detected in biomonitoring studies;
• Contain chemicals that have been observed in indoor air and dust studies;
• May impact children or workers; or
• Contain chemicals that may adversely impact aquatic resources or that have been observed through water quality monitoring.

The initial Priority Products list is the first set of product-chemical combinations DTSC has proposed for regulation under the Safer Consumer Products (SCP) regulations. Publication of this draft list of products imposes no new regulatory requirements on manufacturers until DTSC finalizes it by adopting regulations. For more information, read DTSC's Draft Initial Priority Products List.

For the first list of products, only products with Candidate Chemicals listed on both a hazard trait list and an exposure potential list were considered.

The proposed list of three product-chemical combinations was released on March 13, 2014. The initial list requirements are described fully in section 69503.6 of the SCP regulations.

Priority Products will not be final until they are adopted into regulation. This will be done in conformance with California's rulemaking law – the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The APA process includes a 45-day public notice and comment period. It allows DTSC up to one year from the public notice date to finalize the regulations.

The regulation to list Children's Foam-Padded Sleeping Products with TDCPP or TCEP as a Priority Product became effective on July 1, 2017. The next two Priority Products, Spray Polyurethane Foam with Unreacted MDI and Paint Stripper with Methylene Chloride, will be announced after the have completed the APA process.