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How California is harnessing P2 to make safer products
October 10, 2012
How California is harnessing P2 to make safer products
The Pollution Prevention Act marked a significant change in how US companies manage hazardous waste twenty-two years ago as it was shifted from an “end of pipe” approach to controlling chemical hazards at their source which gave a major change in how people think about protecting human health and preserving the environment.
Building on the foundational efforts of several countries and at least four states, California has released the nation’s first comprehensive approach for reducing toxics in its products. The proposed Safer Consumer Products Regulation requires manufacturers to ask the questions: “Is this toxic ingredient necessary?” and “Is there a safer alternative?”
Instead of reducing the use of chemicals that threaten health and contaminate the environment, the new approach mandates the rethinking of ingredients during the design phase of the product and that is a fundamental change in the way toxics in consumer products are being regulated. If a safer alternative is not feasible or cannot be found, the department is now authorized to impost a number of regulatory responses including mandating end-of-life management, use restrictions, engineering or administrative controls, the funding of research to design safer alternatives and ultimately a ban on sales in California.
Read more at GreenBiz.
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