(a) (1) On or before January 1, 2011, the department shall adopt regulations pursuant to this section that establish a process for evaluating chemicals of concern in consumer products, and their potential alternatives, to determine how best to limit exposure or to reduce the level of hazard posed by a chemical of concern, in accordance with the review process specified in Section 25252.5. The department shall adopt these regulations in consultation with all appropriate state agencies and after conducting one or more public workshops for which the department provides public notice and provides an opportunity for all interested parties to comment.
(2) The regulations adopted pursuant to this section shall establish a process that includes an evaluation of the availability of potential alternatives and potential hazards posed by those alternatives, as well as an evaluation of critical exposure pathways. This process shall include life cycle assessment tools that take into consideration, but shall not be limited to, all of the following:
(A) Product function or performance.
(B) Useful life.
(C) Materials and resource consumption.
(D) Water conservation.
(E) Water quality impacts.
(F) Air emissions.
(G) Production, in-use, and transportation energy inputs.
(H) Energy efficiency.
(I) Greenhouse gas emissions.
(J) Waste and end-of-life disposal.
(K) Public health impacts, including potential impacts to sensitive subpopulations, including infants and children.
(L) Environmental impacts.
(M) Economic impacts.
(b) The regulations adopted pursuant to this section shall specify the range of regulatory responses that the department may take following the completion of the alternatives analysis, including, but not limited to, any of the following actions:
(1) Not requiring any action.
(2) Imposing requirements to provide additional information needed to assess a chemical of concern and its potential alternatives.
(3) Imposing requirements on the labeling or other type of consumer product information.
(4) Imposing a restriction on the use of the chemical of concern in the consumer product.
(5) Prohibiting the use of the chemical of concern in the consumer product.
(6) Imposing requirements that control access to or limit exposure to the chemical of concern in the consumer product.
(7) Imposing requirements for the manufacturer to manage the product at the end of its useful life, including recycling or responsible disposal of the consumer product.
(8) Imposing a requirement to fund green chemistry challenge grants where no feasible safer alternative exists.
(9) Any other outcome the department determines accomplishes the requirements of this article.
(c) The department, in developing the processes and regulations pursuant to this section, shall ensure that the tools available are in a form that allows for ease of use and transparency of application. The department shall also make every feasible effort to devise simplified and accessible tools that consumer product manufacturers, consumer product distributors, product retailers, and consumers can use to make consumer product manufacturing, sales, and purchase decisions.
(Amended by Stats. 2009, Ch. 140, Sec. 112. (AB 1164) Effective January 1, 2010.)