New York State is proposing reporting and prohibition requirements for certain chemicals in children’s products. If approved, ‘the Act’ will become effective on March 1, 2020.
In March 2019, the US state of New York introduced the A6296A bill to require manufacturers (which includes importers and first domestic distributors) of children’s products containing dangerous chemicals (DCs) and chemicals of concern (CoCs) to disclose information on the use of these chemicals at practical quantification limits (PQLs). The A6296A bill, ‘An Act to amend the Environmental Conservation Law, in relation to regulation of toxic chemicals in children’s products’ (the Act), would amend the state’s Environmental Conservation Law by adding new Title IX ‘Toxic Chemicals in Children’s Products’.
According to the definitions in the proposal, children’s products are products primarily intended for, made for or marketed for use by children aged 12 and under, including apparel, baby products, bedding, (detachable) car seats, childcare articles, furnishings, furniture, jewelry, novelty products, personal care products, school supplies and toys.
The proposal contains the following important provisions:
- An initial list of 103 CoCs
- An initial list of nine DCs, some of which are a family of chemicals
- The lists of CoCs and DCs will be made available on the authority’s website within 180 days of the effective date of the Act, and these will be reviewed periodically
- Reporting requirements on the use of DCs or CoCs in children’s products at PQL levels
- Reporting requirements for children’s products within 12 months after a DC has been added on the list
- Fee requirements and waivers for reporting
- Consumers are to be notified of children’s products containing CoCs and DCs on the authority’s website
- Manufacturers of children’s products containing a DC are to notify downstream users on the presence of such a chemical, and to provide information on its toxicity
- Children’s products containing the following DCs will be prohibited from January 1, 2023:
- Asbestos
- Benzene
- Formaldehyde other than in textiles
- Organohalogen flame retardants
- Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate
- Children’s products containing DCs will be prohibited three years after the DC has been added to the list
- Directing the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to implement rules and regulations for implementing the Act
It is important to note that the language in the proposal may be amended during its passage in the legislature.
If approved, the Act will become effective on March 1, 2020
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