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Nov 03, 2024

From Tires to Nail Polish, DOE Studies Consumer Products Containing Toxic Chemicals - Lake Chelan News and Information

information submitted by Cathy Hamilton-Wissmer In May 2024, the Department of Ecology’s Safer Products for Washington team identified a new set of toxic chemicals in everyday consumer products.

information submitted by Cathy Hamilton-Wissmer

In May 2024, the Department of Ecology’s Safer Products for Washington team identified a new set of toxic chemicals in everyday consumer products. That’s important because it gives us an opportunity to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals and prevent their release into the environment. We want your feedback on the products we’ve identified as significant sources of these toxic chemicals.

We prioritized products where we saw potential opportunities to reduce or prevent the use of toxic chemicals and to reduce disproportionate exposures. The new priority products and priority chemicals we identify in our report include:

We’re continuing the work we started in 2022 on PFAS in:

Other continuing work includes further review of PCBs in printing inks from the first review cycle and 6PPD in motor vehicle tires.

Toxic chemicals in consumer products can escape into our homes, workplaces, and schools, and eventually make their way to our environment. That’s why we have the Safer Products for Washington program. The program works in five-year cycles. In each cycle, we:

We’re holding a public comment period to hear your thoughts and concerns about these chemicals and products. Here’s how it works:

You can share your thoughts and concerns on anything in the report. Information that’s helpful to us includes:

The public comment period is open from 12 a.m. Nov. 1, 2024, through 11:59 p.m. Dec. 16, 2024. After it closes, we’ll consider all comments and may change the report based on your comments.

If you can’t make the webinar, send feedback and questions to [email protected]. To get updates on our Safer Products for Washington work, subscribe to our Safer Products for Washington email list.

Safer Products for Washington is designed to reduce human and environmental harm by restricting certain toxic chemicals when safer chemical alternatives are available. Where a safer alternative hasn’t been identified, Ecology can require manufacturers to report the use of these chemicals. For more information, visit ecology.wa.gov/Safer-Products-WA.