3960 Department of Toxic Substances Control
Program Descriptions

3630 - SAFER CONSUMER PRODUCTS

The Safer Consumer Products (SCP) program strives to get manufacturers to reduce human and environmental exposure to toxic chemicals. SCP calls for industry to develop safer consumer products and use pollution prevention best practices. The program implements the Safer Consumer Products regulations. SCP also collects information on the presence of toxic chemicals in products in order to identify Priority Products for possible regulation; provides support and guidance to Priority Product manufacturers for the analysis of safer alternatives; and issues regulatory responses to proposed alternatives. The program encourages the adoption of "green chemistry" practices.

Pollution Prevention responsibilities are to promote compliance with legislative mandates regarding consumer product chemical safety. The program supports adoption of focused business sector pollution prevention strategies; supports local green business initiatives; and helps the regulated community comply with laws and regulations.

This program, in conjunction with the Department of Public Health and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, also implements the California Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring Program. DTSC's Environmental Chemistry Laboratory (ECL) is charged with measuring both targeted and new chemicals in blood and urine. Ongoing activities include measuring these chemicals in studies of vulnerable populations, including mothers and their newborns, older women, firefighters, and families with childhood leukemia. Additionally, ECL is continuously developing new methods to identify and measure chemicals of emerging concern, including newer flame retardants and other substitutes and alternatives for restricted/banned toxic chemicals. The SCP program will rely on biomonitoring results for implementation of its three-year Priority Products Work Plan. Biomonitoring evidence has been called out in the Work Plan as a priority screening tool for identification of product-chemical combinations warranting consideration of safer alternatives.