Last week, Governor Cuomo (D) signed legislation (S.501B / A.6296A) to protect children's health by regulating the use of chemicals in children's products. The bill requires manufacturers to disclose the use of chemicals in children's products and requires the Department of Environmental Conservation to make this information available to consumers. The legislation will reorganize the regulatory framework for DEC to designate chemicals of concern and high-priority chemicals, establish a children's product safety council charged with providing DEC with making recommendations on additional chemicals to be considered for future prohibitions on use in children's products, establish timelines for future regulatory actions, incorporate a standard by which chemicals should be reviewed by the department for future prohibitions as well as other technical changes.
Under this new law, the DEC will be required to promulgate a list of chemicals of concern, which will define chemicals that have a specific hazard profile. Chemicals that have a specific hazard profile includes chemicals that have been identified by a government entity and/or identified on the basis of credible scientific evidence as a carcinogen, asthmagen, or reproductive or developmental toxicant. Within 12 months of a chemical being identified as a chemical of concern, manufacturers will be required to disclose the use that chemical, and the legislation allows the DEC to share this information with an online database used by other states that have similar programs. The initial list of chemicals of concern is to be published by February 2022 and it needs to include the list of chemicals already identified in the bill.
A category of high-priority chemicals is also included in the final legislation. High-priority chemicals will be reviewed periodically to determine if such chemicals should be subject to a prohibition. Manufacturers which use high-priority chemicals in their products would be required to notify retailers that the chemical is contained within a product.
SGIA is currently following the implementation of this new legislation. For questions or more information, please contact SGIA’s Government Affairs Department at govtaffairs@sgia.org.
Under this new law, the DEC will be required to promulgate a list of chemicals of concern, which will define chemicals that have a specific hazard profile. Chemicals that have a specific hazard profile includes chemicals that have been identified by a government entity and/or identified on the basis of credible scientific evidence as a carcinogen, asthmagen, or reproductive or developmental toxicant. Within 12 months of a chemical being identified as a chemical of concern, manufacturers will be required to disclose the use that chemical, and the legislation allows the DEC to share this information with an online database used by other states that have similar programs. The initial list of chemicals of concern is to be published by February 2022 and it needs to include the list of chemicals already identified in the bill.
A category of high-priority chemicals is also included in the final legislation. High-priority chemicals will be reviewed periodically to determine if such chemicals should be subject to a prohibition. Manufacturers which use high-priority chemicals in their products would be required to notify retailers that the chemical is contained within a product.
SGIA is currently following the implementation of this new legislation. For questions or more information, please contact SGIA’s Government Affairs Department at govtaffairs@sgia.org.