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The Washington Division of Ecology issued new regulations to cut back air pollution from poisonous chemical substances in client merchandise. Below the rules, producers might be required to restrict or report using sure chemical substances in particular merchandise.
As client merchandise are made, used and thrown away, they’ll launch poisonous chemical substances into properties, communities and environments in Washington. These chemical substances are linked to well being issues like most cancers, developmental delays, and disruption of reproductive hormones. Within the atmosphere, a few of these chemical substances can hurt fish and different animals. Some are bioaccumulative — they construct up over time as they transfer up the meals chain and proceed inflicting hurt.
Ecology’s Safer Merchandise for Washington program is designed to cut back this air pollution by proscribing sure poisonous chemical substances when a safer chemical various is on the market. The place a safer various hasn’t been recognized, Ecology can require producers to report using these chemical substances to extend transparency. Washington’s 2019 toxic pollution law additionally permits Ecology to control chemical substances by class to cut back the probability of swapping out one poisonous chemical for one more.
“It is a milestone for air pollution prevention in Washington state. We’ve taken step one towards closing gaps in present federal rules,” mentioned Laura Watson, Ecology’s director. “By way of the Safer Merchandise for Washington program, we’re working with business representatives, advocates and group members to establish poisonous chemical substances, discover safer options, and create a more healthy atmosphere for our state.”
The merchandise lined by the brand new rules are vital sources of those poisonous chemical substances:
- PFAS in aftermarket stain- and water-resistance therapies, carpets and rugs, and leather-based and textile furnishings.
- Ortho-phthalates in vinyl flooring and in private care product fragrances.
- Organohalogen flame retardants in electrical and digital merchandise.
- Flame retardants in leisure polyurethane foam.
- Phenolic compounds in laundry detergent, foods and drinks can linings, and thermal paper.
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