ASC Regulatory Affairs to Focus on California in 2015
Regulatory actions in California, such as a revision to the Prop 65 labeling requirements and a possible alternative assessment evaluation of construction adhesive or sealant products under the state’s new Safer Consumer Product program, are expected to dominate the Adhesive and Sealant Council’s (ASC) attention in 2015. While California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEEHA) has not issued a proposed rule, the agency has informally suggested changes to the existing Prop 65 label that would add extraneous and inflammatory language to the existing warning label, as well as an OEEHA-designed pictogram to indicate the product may pose a health hazard.
“ASC member companies consider any additional language or warning symbols to the existing label as unnecessary and a misguided attempt by the agency to characterize safe products, used daily by California consumers, as being inherently dangerous,” said Mark Collatz, director of Regulatory Affairs. “This is just another example of what happens when regulators focus on risk without considering actual exposure.”
In addition, California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has identified building and construction products—including adhesives and sealants—as one of seven categories for possible review under the state’s Safer Consumer Product program in 2015.
“The challenge here is that DTSC has not completely worked out a process or determined the best tools for companies to use when conducting the required Alternative Assessment for a product in question,” said Collatz. “Every industry potentially impacted by these requirements needs to stay involved to be sure that the rules for determining whether there are safer alternative formulas that can be applied in a fair and rational manner and incorporate exposure variables within the risk models.”
For more information, visit www.ascouncil.org.
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