Winter Title
   www.specialtytechnicalconsultants.com Winter 2010   
Green ChemistRy California Establishes Green Chemistry Program
The California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) launched the California Green Chemistry Initiative in April, 2007 and policies and goals for the program were proposed in 2008. In 2009 two important pieces of legislation were passed which require that the agency establish a set of implementing regulations. 
What is Green Chemistry?  Green Chemistry is a systematic scientific and engineering approach that seeks to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals and the generation of toxic wastes by changing how society designs, manufactures, and uses chemicals in processes and products.  Green Chemistry includes the following twelve principles:
1.     Preventing waste.
2.     Designing safer chemicals and products.
3.     Designing less hazardous chemical syntheses.
4.     Using renewable feedstocks.
5.     Using catalysts, not stoichiometric reagents.
6.     Avoiding chemical derivatives.
7.     Maximizing atom economy (so that final products contain the maximum proportion of the starting materials; there should be few, if any, wasted atoms).
8.     Using safer solvents and reaction conditions.
9.     Increasing energy efficiency.
10.  Designing chemicals and products to degrade after use.
11.  Analyzing in real time to prevent pollution.
12.  Minimizing the potential for accidents.
The goal of the California Green Chemistry Initiative is to develop policy recommendations to stimulate "green" design of products so that the manufacturing, use or disposal of products generates, uses and releases less hazardous chemical substances.  The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has collaborated with other state agencies and departments to gather input from experts and stakeholders worldwide.  This process culminated in December 2008 with the issuance of a final report that included the following six policy recommendations: 
  • Expand Pollution Prevention and Product Stewardship Programs to more business sectors to refocus additional resources on prevention rather than clean up.
  • Develop Green Chemistry Workforce Education and Training, Research and Development and Technology Transfer through new and existing educational programs and partnerships.
  • Create an Online Product Ingredient Network to disclose chemical ingredients for products sold in California, while protecting trade secrets.
  • Create an Online Toxics Clearinghouse, an online database of chemical toxicity and hazards populated with the guidance of a Green Ribbon Science Panel to help prioritize chemicals of concern and data needs.
  • Accelerate the Quest for Safer Products, creating a systematic, science-based process to evaluate chemicals of concern and alternatives to ensure product safety and reduce or eliminate the need for chemical-by-chemical bans. 
  • Move Toward a "Cradle-to-Cradle" Economy to leverage market forces to produce products that are "benign-by-design" in part by establishing a California Green Products Registry to develop green metrics and tools for a range of consumer products and encourage their use by businesses.
The state is also moving forward on the regulatory front.  In September 2008, California enacted two-part legislation that establishes a comprehensive green chemistry program to reduce or eliminate hazardous chemicals in products and the environment with the signing of Assembly Bill (AB) 1879 and Senate Bill (SB) 509 by Governor Schwarzenegger.  Both bills became effective January 1, 2009. 
 
AB 1879 requires the DTSC adopt regulations by January 1, 2011 that create a process for identifying and prioritizing chemicals of concern and create methods for analyzing alternatives to existing hazardous chemicals.  DTSC is also required to adopt regulations to establish a process by which chemicals of concern in products, and their potential alternatives, are evaluated to determine how best to limit exposure or to reduce the level of hazard posed by a chemical of concern.  The regulations must specify actions that DTSC may take following the completion of the analysis, including imposing requirements to provide additional information, requirements for labeling or other types of product information, controlling access to or limiting exposure, managing the product at the end of its useful life, or funding green chemistry challenge grants, restrictions on the use of the chemical of concern in the product, or prohibitions on use.   AB 1879 also requires DTSC to establish a Green Ribbon Science Panel made up of experts to provide advice on scientific matters, chemical policy recommendations and implementation strategies, as well as ensuring implementation efforts are based on a scientific foundation.  
 
The second piece of the legislation, SB 509, requires DTSC to establish an online Toxics Information Clearinghouse for the collection, maintenance, and distribution of specific chemical hazard traits and environmental and toxicological end-point data.  The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is required to evaluate and specify the hazard traits and environmental and toxicological end-points and any other relevant data that are to be included in the clearinghouse by January 1, 2011.
While other states are working on green chemistry concepts, none are as far along as California.  Michigan, for example, has established a green chemistry program to promote green chemistry for sustainable economic development and protection of public health, and has released a strategy to promote research, development, and commercialization of innovative and practical technologies that prevent pollution through cleaner, cheaper, smarter chemistry. 
More information about DTSC's Green Chemistry Initiative can be found at http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/PollutionPrevention/GreenChemistryInitiative.
 
Questions about this Newsletter?
Melanie Powers-Schanbacher
Telephone: 908.707.4001