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Guidelines help ID toxic home products California has taken a significant step toward providing residents with information about hazardous chemicals in products under a far-reaching law designed to improve consumer health and safety.On Friday, the states Department of Toxic Substances Control, the agency charged with regulating toxic substances, released its final proposals intended to help people identify harmful chemicals in household products and encourage businesses to adopt safer alternatives to them.The guidelines are required by a 2008 green-chemistry law that was among the first of its kind in the nation. They are expected to be finalized after a 45-day public comment period and take effect by the end of the year.While these are groundbreaking for California, we are certainly not standing alone, said Debbie Raphael, the agencys director. People across the globe, and certainly across the United States, are interested in finding out about the kinds of chemicals being used in their consumer products. The agency has chosen to regulate 1,200 chemicals found in household goods and identified as hazardous by scientific and governmental organizations, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Product testingManufacturers and, to a lesser extent, importers and retailers would eventually be required to test products they sell in California for those ingredients. If they find them, they would have to determine whether there are safer alternatives to those chemicals and whether they would be willing or able to replace them. If the choice is not to replace them, the state would place tougher regulations on the product. If manufacturers fail to do the testing, retailers would not be allowed to order those products in California.During the first years the regulations are in place, the agency will limit its scope to up to five commonly used products that contain some of those chemicals, Raphael said, because the department wants to see the regulations play out on a small scale. The scope will eventually expand to all products sold in California that contain the chemicals. In the short-term, not many companies are actually going to have to do anything at all, said Joe Guth, a research scientist at UC Berkeleys School of Public Health and Center for Green Chemistry.When the regulations are finalized, consumers will be able to read online the entire list of hazardous chemicals and of manufacturers who have or have not complied.Environmental and health advocates said they mostly support the new proposal, but are concerned that some aspects still do not go far enough to protect public health and ensure transparency from manufacturers. Industry officials, on the other hand, have worried the regulations will drive businesses from California or force themdivulge trade secrets.Several trade groups - the Green Chemistry Alliance, the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Manufacturers and Technology Association - said Friday they were reviewing the guidelines.After stakeholder meetings and several revisions, including the last major one in October, the proposal has changed in several ways. For instance, the Department of Toxic Substances Control would now consider a chemicals or products ability to contribute to or cause harm, rather than its potential to cause harm.The phrases may seem synonymous, but health advocates said the change sounds warning bells. They argue that the term ability to inflict harm requires proof that it does just that, while potential allows room for the judgment that, say, a new chemical is probablyThe idea is to say if a chemical looks like a bad chemical and smells like a bad chemical, its probably a bad chemical and should be considered as well, said Kathryn Alcantar, state policy director for the Center for Environmental Health and a campaign coordinator for Californians for a Healthy and Green Economy, a coalition of environmental health groups.In previous drafts, the agency planned to regulate as many as 3,000 chemicals, but that list has been whittled down to exclude pesticides, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals absent from household products.Transparency questionedCritics contend the regulations do not go far enough to ensure transparency.When manufacturers propose to use safer chemicals in their products, that analysis will be reviewed by the state and posted online. But Alcantar said companies reviews should be required to undergo an independent analysis to ensure their legitimacy.This is something were concerned about because, obviously, they have a financial, potential gain saying, The product were using is safe, she said.Advocates are also concerned the proposed regulations do not apply to products made in California but sold out of state, which could leave factory workers unprotected from hazardous work conditions.- To view the regulations, go to bit.ly/rFikhbKey changes - The list of affected chemicals has been narrowed from the previous version released in October, from about 3,000 to 1,200.- Up to five commonly used household products with hazardous chemicals will be scrutinized initially.- The Department of Toxic Substances Control will consider a chemical or products ability to contribute to or cause harm, rather than its potential to cause harm.- Products with particularly hazardous chemicals will be exempted only if the chemicals make up less than an amount to be determined on a case-by-case basis, not a default level.Source: California Department of Toxic Substances Control 帮助识别有毒家居用品的指南加利福利亚洲依照一项影响深远旨在改善消费者的健康和安全的法律，在向居民提供产品中有害化学物质的信息上已采取重要步骤。上周五，国家有毒物质监控中心（该部门负责管理有毒物质），发布了他们最终的议案，旨在帮助人们鉴定在家用产品中的有害化学物质和鼓励商家采用更安全的物质代替他们。该指南应2008绿色化学法制定，该法是国内同类型法律中的第一个。指南将在45天公众评论其后最终定稿，并且于年底生效。“虽然这些在加州是开创性的，但是我们并不孤独”中心主任Debbie Raphael表示“全世界的人，当然，全美国的人民，对于找出他们用的产品中的化学物质很感兴趣”该机构已经选择监管1200种在家用产品中发现的和被科学上及官方，例如美国环境保护中心和国际癌症研究机构，鉴定为有害的化学物质。产品测试制造商和，在更小的范围内，进口商和零售商在加州出售的商品会最终被要求进行相关成分的测试。如果发现含有1200种有害物质中的一种，该物质将被检查是否有可替代的化学物质并且是否可以被取代。如果不能替代，加州会设立更严厉的法律来管理这种商品。如果制造商没有做测试，那么零售商将不能在加州订购这种商品。在法规落实的第一年，机构仅会限制数量达到五种的含有规定化学物质的常用商品，Raphael表示，“因为部门希望看到该法规可以在小范围内生效。限制品数量将会逐渐加大到所有在加州出售的含有有关化学物质的商品。”在短期内，“实际上不会有太多的公司需要去做什么”一位来自加州大学伯克利分校公共卫生和绿色化学学院的研究学家Joe Guth 表示。当法规最终定稿后，消费者可以在网上在线阅读有害化学物质的全部清单以及制造商们是否履行了该法规。环境和健康倡导者说他们基本支持这项新提案，但表示担心的是提案中某些方面在保护公众健康和确保企业透明度上仍然做的不够。产业官员在另一方面担心这项法规会让一些商家撤离加州或者迫使他们透露商业机密。一些贸易集团绿色化学联盟，加利福利亚商会和加加利福利亚洲厂家和技术协会星期五表示，他们正在审核该指南。在股东会议以及几次修改后，包括最主要的十月的会议，该议案已经在几个方面进行了修改。例如，有毒物