This October, California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released the final version of the Safer Consumer Products (SCP) Program’s Three-Year Priority Product Work Plan for 2024–2026. The work plan identifies eight categories of consumer products that DTSC will evaluate to determine whether specific products within those categories should be designated as Priority Products—product-chemical combinations that may be subject to regulation.
Four categories remain largely unchanged from the 2021-2023 work plan:
- Beauty, personal care, and hygiene products;
- Cleaning products;
- Building products and materials used in construction and renovation; and
- Children’s products.
Two existing categories have been expanded:
- Food packaging—expanded to include food contact articles; and
- Motor vehicle tires—expanded to include motor vehicle parts, accessories, maintenance, and repair materials.
Finally, two new categories have been added:
- Paints (previously included under building products); and
- Products that contain or generate microplastics.
The work plan also touches on Senate Bill 502. That 2022 California law expanded DTSC’s authority under the SCP Program, granting DTSC greater power to require product manufacturers to disclose product ingredients. Importantly, the bill also established a process for DTSC to move directly to regulatory response for a Priority Product, bypassing an Alternatives Analysis.
A full list of Candidate Chemicals—substances that may lead to a product’s prioritization—is available on DTSC’s website.