From EWG

State agencies are now working with an official policy that urges them, for the sake of public health, to avoid products, equipment and other items containing any of 85 toxic chemicals whenever safer, cost-effective alternatives are available.

The list consists of known and probable human carcinogens identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Toxicology Program as well as substances that accumulate in the human body and don’t readily break down in the environment.

 It was the product of a four-year effort that brought together multiple environmental groups, including the Center for Health, Environment & Justice, the Grassroots Environmental Education, the Great Neck Breast Cancer Coalition, the Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition, the Western New York Council for Occupational Safety & Health and many others.

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From: NEWS from CPSC

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced the signing of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Hong Kong and Australia to improve product safety.

The vision for improvements in the safety of consumer products extends from Asia to Australia to America. The MOUs with Australia and Hong Kong put formal structures into place for information sharing about recalled products, consumer product regulations, product testing requirements and product safety campaigns. The MOUs also allow regulators to work more easily toward compatible product safety standards.

CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum signed both MOUs with product safety regulators during visits to Hong Kong and Sydney to discuss the need for global improvements in consumer product safety.

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From: SF Appeal

In a study released Thursday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, UCSF researchers revealed that almost all pregnant women carry multiple chemicals in their systems, including some which have been banned since the 1970′s, said Margie Kelly, a spokeswoman with the nonprofit Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families.

Among the chemicals found in the women were compounds that are used as flame retardants that are now banned in many states, and a pesticide that was banned in the U.S. in 1972, Kelly said.

“There are personal choices pregnant women can make to reduce their exposures to environmental chemicals, but the significant, long-lasting change only will result from a systemic approach that includes proactive government policies,” Woodruff said….The current federal law governing chemicals in the U.S. is the outdated 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act.

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From: Environmental Leader

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has corrected the number of notifications it received for substances under the CLP Regulation.

The actual number of substances that ECHA received notification of is 107,067, instead of the previously announced number of 24,529, chemist Kal Kawar reports.  The deadline for CLP notifications was January 3, 2011…The discrepancy was due to some bulk files being counted as single substances.

For the January 3 deadline under the CLP Regulation, the most CLP notifications came from:

* Germany: over 800,000
* United Kingdom: over 500,000
* France: nearly 300,000

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From: Suite101

New regulations on use of six types of phthalates in childrens products were announced by the Honorable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health and Pierre Polievre, Member of Parliament for Nepean-Carleton.

Research has shown that exposure to phthalates at an early age may impact reproduction and development. Health Canada is advising parents and caregivers to watch for any soft plastic toys their child may be playing with and to remove them if the child is observed sucking or chewing on them. Products intended for the mouth will most likely not contain phthalates due to the voluntary decision in 1998, but products not intended for the mouth, such as plastic bibs or toys, may contain phthalates.

Concentrations of di 2-ethylhexl phthalate (DEHP), benzyl butyl phthalate (DINP) and di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP) are not allowed to exceed more than 1000 mg/kg or 0.1 per cent in products that may enter the mouths of children under four years of age, reports Global News. This ban includes all products that can reasonably be foreseeable to enter the infant or child’s mouth.

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From: CBC News

Health Canada has no plans to follow the lead of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and open an office in China…The CPSA announced Monday it was opening an office in China, the first outside the U.S., in a bid to reduce the flow of dangerous products reaching the American market.

In a statement to CBC News, Health Canada said none of its officials or inspectors have a physical presence in China. It said any inspections or investigations are carried out by China’s office of quality supervision and inspection.

Any products imported to Canada from China are expected to comply with the Hazardous Products Act. It’s the responsibility of importers, retailers and advertisers to ensure that products coming from offshore comply with Canadian laws.

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From: Prop 65 Clearinghouse Blog

On October 22, 2010, OEHHA published a notice in the California Regulatory Notice Register requesting relevant information to the evaluation of the chemical kresoxim-methyl in consideration for possible listing under Proposition 65.

The original publication of the notice initiated a 60 day public comment period which would have closed on December 21, 2010. OEHHA has since received a request from interested parties seeking an extension…and is extending the public comment period for this chemical until 5:00 pm on Thursday, January 20, 2011.

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From: EPA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a final rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requiring manufacturers of 19 high production volume (HPV) chemicals to test the health and environmental effects of the chemicals and submit the data to the agency.

This rule is one of a series of actions that EPA is taking to ensure that the agency has the data it needs to adequately review priority chemicals.

The rule follows up on the voluntary HPV Challenge Program Chemical List launched by EPA that included chemicals used in household products such as hobby/craft glues, personal-care products, home cleaning products, home maintenance products, and automotive products.

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From: Environmental Expert

The European Commission today presented draft legislation to strengthen rules on the control of major accident hazards involving chemicals. The revision of the so-called Seveso II Directive will align the legislation to changes in EU chemicals law and will clarify and update other provisions. This includes introducing stricter inspection standards and improving the level and quality of information available to the public in the event of an accident. The new Directive should apply from 1 June 2015.

Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said: “The Seveso II Directive has been instrumental in reducing the likelihood and consequences of chemical accidents. However, such accidents still occur and can often have devastating effects. We cannot compromise with safety. This is why the proposed new rules will further strengthen legislation in this area and ensure the necessary high levels of protection.” The review was prompted by the adoption of rules to align the EU classification system to the UN Globally Harmonised System. It will ensure that the same hazards are described and labelled in the same way all around the world.

For more on the changes involved in this legislation, please click the above link.

From: EPA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has introduced a new web-based tool that will enable the public to search for and have easy access to health and safety studies on industrial chemicals. As part of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s continued efforts to enhance EPA’s chemical management program and increase transparency, the chemical data access tool allows users to conduct a chemical-specific search for health and safety studies that have been submitted to the agency under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The tool will also be added to Data.Gov, a website developed by the Obama Administration to provide public access to important government information.

Under TSCA, companies are required to submit health and safety studies to the agency when they show there may be a substantial risk, when chemical testing is required, or to facilitate EPA’s review of new chemicals. The public now will be able to have easy access to these studies simply by searching for the name of a chemical or for a particular word or phrase, such as a health or safety concern addressed in a study.

Follow the links for more information.