US State of Maine proposes to designate four phthalates (DEHP, DBP, BBP and DEP) as priority chemicals under the Maine’s Toxic Chemicals in Children’s Products Law.
The proposed rule requires manufacturers of children’s products containing intentionally added DEHP, DBP, BBP or DEP shall report to the Department of Environmental Protection the required information, after the effective date of this rule within certain deadline listed as below:
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Size of manufacturer
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Annual Gross Sales
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Deadline
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Largest
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> 1 billion dollars
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12 months
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Larger
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> 0.25 and ≤1 (billion dollars)
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18 months
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Medium
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> 0.1 and ≤0.25 (billion dollars)
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24 months
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Small
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≤0.1 billion dollars
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Establishing
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The manufacture may petition the waiver of disclosure for products if the manufacturer has provided substantially equivalent information to the information required by this rule to the state of Washington and the information is publically available from the state of Washington’s searchable online database.
Children’s products in this proposed rule refer to apparel and footwear, arts and crafts products, building products, cosmetic and personal care products, home maintenance products, household and commercial cleaning products, household furniture and furnishings and personal accessories.
Phthalates are a group of chemicals that are used frequently to make vinyl and other plastics soft and flexible. Their use in products, specifically children’s toys, has received much attention in recent years.
Note:
DEHP: di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate
DBP: dibutyl phthalate
BBP: benzyl butyl phthalate
DEP: diethyl phthalate
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