A month in advance of its October 31, 2013 statutory deadline, California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) on September 26, 2013 released its preliminary lists of Candidate Chemicals under the state’s newly enacted Green Chemistry Initiative.  The Green Chemistry regulations, which officially took effect today, require certain “Priority Products” to go through a rigorous “alternatives analysis” to evaluate their environmental and public health risks and determine if there are safer substitutes.  The first five Priority Products will be announced by April 1, 2014.

The full list sets forth roughly 1,200 chemical substances that could potentially be regulated. However, DTSC is expected to select its initial Priority Products from a shorter list of 164 chemicals.  Subsequently, additional Priority Products may be selected based on the full list of Candidate Chemicals.

Companies should review these lists carefully to identify any chemicals that they manufacture, import, or purchase for use in their products.  Keep tuned to this space for more updates on California’s Green Chemistry Initiative as it is rolled out over the next year.

Content for this post provided by Crowell & Moring partners Warren Lehrenbaum, Cheryl A. Falvey, and Kevin C. Mayer, and associate Joshua Kaplowitz.