California Green Chemistry Initiative Final Report Praised by Scientific Adviser

Jennifer Witherspoon, (415) 293-6067, jwitherspoon@edf.org

(Sacramento – December 16, 2008) The Final Report of the California Green Chemistry Initiative today was praised by one of the initiative’s scientific advisers for providing six key recommendations for advancing chemicals policy reform and the development of a safer, more sustainable chemicals economy in the state.

“This report usefully recommends a number of the key building blocks that can move us toward the kind of fundamental reform we need in how we design, make, use and manage chemicals across their lifecycles,” said Dr. Richard Denison, Environmental Defense Fund senior scientist and a member of the Green Chemistry Initiative's Science Advisory Panel. “While many critical aspects remain to be worked out through implementation, the report provides much of the needed framework.”

In particular, Denison applauded several key provisions aimed at increasing the amount of information about chemicals accessible to the public and the marketplace, including:

• A requirement that manufacturers disclose the chemical ingredients, including nanomaterials, present in their products through a publicly accessible online data network.

• Development of a toxics clearinghouse intended both to compile existing information and to serve as a basis for identifying key data gaps on chemicals of concern for which data need to be generated.

• Establishment of agreements with other governments to gain access to chemical information they possess.

• Development of a framework and practical tools that can be used to expeditiously assess and spur the adoption of alternatives to chemicals of concern, with an emphasis on avoiding overly cumbersome and data-intensive analyses that could impede prompt action to address chemicals of concern.