June 27, 2014
On June 25, 2014, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) convened a meeting of the Green Ribbon Science Panel. DTSC requested input concerning methods for identifying future Priority Products under the Safer Consumer Products (SCP) program. The methods will be spelled out in a three-year work plan DTSC expects to release in mid-July. The panel advised DTSC to consider broad functional use categories (e.g., surface disinfectants, bonding agents) as the basis to identify product groups for further study. There was some disagreement among panel members on the role potential chemical exposure should play in the prioritization process; some panel members felt that only exposures shown to be associated with an established hazard should be considered whereas others felt that indications of widespread exposures (e.g., from biomonitoring studies) were important even if the hazards were not well understood.
Of particular interest, DTSC requested that panel members suggest possible chemical-product combinations for inclusion in the work plan. Suggestions included triphenyl phosphate in cosmetics, triclosan in personal care products, lead in various consumer products (such as garden hoses and Christmas lights), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in pigments, paint strippers (beyond those already designated), fluorinated surfactants, and nanosilver particles used in clothing. DTSC will propose the actual product categories it will use to identify future priority products in the work plan, which will be subject to 30-day public comment period.
Information on the Green Ribbon Science Panel Members
DTSC’s diagram of how the Safer Consumer Products Program will work