HF 250

3rd Engrossment - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 02/09/2010 01:35am

A bill for an act
relating to public health; protecting the health of children from toxic chemicals
in products; requiring disclosure by manufacturers of children's products that
contain chemicals of high concern; authorizing the Department of Health to
designate priority chemicals of high concern and require replacement with safer
alternatives; authorizing participation in an interstate clearinghouse; requiring
reports to the legislature; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 116.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [116.9401] DEFINITIONS.
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new text begin (a) For the purposes of sections 116.9401 to 116.9411, the following terms have
the meanings given them.
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new text begin (b) "Agency" means the Pollution Control Agency.
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new text begin (c) "Alternative" means a substitute process, product, material, chemical, strategy,
or combination of these that serves a functionally equivalent purpose to a chemical in a
children's product.
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new text begin (d) "Chemical" means a substance with a distinct molecular composition or a group
of structurally related substances and includes the breakdown products of the substance or
substances that form through decomposition, degradation, or metabolism.
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new text begin (e) "Chemical of high concern" means a chemical identified on the basis of credible
scientific evidence by a governmental entity or the United Nations' World Health
Organization as being known or suspected with a high degree of probability to:
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new text begin (1) harm the normal development of a fetus or child or cause other developmental
toxicity;
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new text begin (2) cause cancer, genetic damage, or reproductive harm;
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new text begin (3) disrupt the endocrine or hormone system;
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new text begin (4) damage the nervous system, immune system, or organs, or cause other systemic
toxicity;
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new text begin (5) be persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic; or
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new text begin (6) be very persistent and very bioaccumulative.
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new text begin (f) "Child" means a person under 12 years of age.
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new text begin (g) "Children's product" means a consumer product intended for use by children,
such as baby products, toys, car seats, personal care products, and clothing.
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new text begin (h) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency.
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new text begin (i) "Department" means the Department of Health.
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new text begin (j) "Distributor" means a person who sells consumer products to retail establishments
on a wholesale basis.
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new text begin (k) "Green chemistry" means an approach to designing and manufacturing products
in ways that minimize the use and generation of toxic substances.
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new text begin (l) "Manufacturer" means any person who manufactures a final consumer product
sold at retail or whose brand name is affixed to the consumer product. In the case of a
consumer product imported into the United States, manufacturer includes the importer
or domestic distributor of the consumer product if the person who manufactured or
assembled the consumer product or whose brand name is affixed to the consumer product
does not have a presence in the United States.
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new text begin (m) "Priority chemical" means a chemical identified by the commissioner as a
chemical of high concern that is contained in a children's product offered for sale in
Minnesota and meets the criteria in section 116.9403.
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new text begin (n) "Safer alternative" means an alternative whose potential to harm human health is
less than that of a priority chemical that it could replace.
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Sec. 2.

new text begin [116.9402] IDENTIFICATION OF CHEMICALS OF HIGH CONCERN.
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new text begin (a) By July 1, 2010, the department shall, after consultation with the agency, publish
in the State Register and on the agency's Internet Web site a list of chemicals of high
concern.
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new text begin (b) The department must periodically review and revise the list of chemicals of high
concern at least every three years. The department may add chemicals to the list if the
chemical meets one or more of the criteria in section 116.9401, paragraph (e).
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new text begin (c) The agency shall consider, among others, chemicals listed in the following
sources for possible inclusion on the list of chemicals of high concern:
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new text begin (1) chemicals identified as "Group 1 carcinogens" or "Group 2A carcinogens" by the
United Nations' World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer;
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new text begin (2) chemicals identified as "known to be a human carcinogen" and "reasonably
anticipated to be a human carcinogen" by the secretary of the United States Department
of Health and Human Services;
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new text begin (3) chemicals identified as "Group A carcinogens" or "Group B carcinogens" by the
United States Environmental Protection Agency;
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new text begin (4) chemicals identified as reproductive or developmental toxicants by:
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new text begin (i) the United States Department of Health and Human Services, National
Toxicology Program, Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction; and
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new text begin (ii) the California Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Environmental Health
Hazard Assessment pursuant to the California Health and Safety Code, Safe Drinking
Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, chapter 6.6, section 25249.8;
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new text begin (5) chemicals identified as known or likely endocrine disruptors through screening
or testing conducted in accordance with protocols developed by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,
United States Code, title 21, section 346a(p), as amended by the federal Food Quality
Protection Act, Public Law 104-170, or the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, United States
Code, title 42, section 300j-17;
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new text begin (6) chemicals listed on the basis of endocrine-disrupting properties in Annex
XIV, List of Substances Subject to Authorisation, Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of
the European Parliament concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and
Restriction of Chemicals;
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new text begin (7) persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals identified by:
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new text begin (i) the state of Washington Department of Ecology in Washington Administrative
Code, Chapter 173-333; or
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new text begin (ii) the United States Environmental Protection Agency in Code of Federal
Regulations, title 40, part 372; and
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new text begin (8) a very persistent, very bioaccumulative chemical listed in Annex XIV, List of
Substances Subject to Authorisation, Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European
Parliament concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of
Chemicals.
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new text begin (d) The department may consider chemicals listed by another state as harmful to
human health or the environment for possible inclusion in the list of chemicals of high
concern.
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Sec. 3.

new text begin [116.9403] IDENTIFICATION OF PRIORITY CHEMICALS.
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new text begin The department, after consultation with the agency, may designate a chemical of
high concern as a priority chemical if the department finds that the chemical:
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new text begin (1) is contained in a children's product offered for sale in Minnesota;
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new text begin (2) has been identified as a high-production volume chemical by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency; and
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new text begin (3) meets any of the following criteria:
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new text begin (i) the chemical has been found through biomonitoring to be present in human blood,
including umbilical cord blood, breast milk, urine, or other bodily tissues or fluids;
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new text begin (ii) the chemical has been found through sampling and analysis to be present in
household dust, indoor air, drinking water, or elsewhere in the home environment;
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new text begin (iii) the chemical has been found through monitoring to be present in fish, wildlife,
or the natural environment; or
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new text begin (iv) the sale or use of the chemical or a product containing the chemical has been
prohibited in another state within the United States.
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Sec. 4.

new text begin [116.9404] IDENTIFICATION OF SAFER ALTERNATIVES.
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new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Department determination. new text end

new text begin The department shall determine
whether a safer alternative to a priority chemical is available and is a technically feasible
replacement for the priority chemical. In making this determination, the department:
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new text begin (1) must utilize information from current scientific literature, the Interstate
Chemicals Clearinghouse, manufacturers of children's products, and other sources it
deems appropriate;
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new text begin (2) may, in the absence of convincing evidence to the contrary, presume that:
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new text begin (i) an alternative is a safer alternative if the alternative is not a chemical of high
concern;
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new text begin (ii) a safer alternative is available if the sale of the children's product containing the
priority chemical has been prohibited by another state within the United States;
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new text begin (iii) a safer alternative is available if the children's product containing the priority
chemical is an item of apparel or a novelty; and
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new text begin (iv) a safer alternative is available if the alternative is sold in the United States.
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Department designation. new text end

new text begin (a) If the department determines that a safer
alternative is available and is a technically feasible replacement for a priority chemical,
the department shall designate that priority chemical a Level 1 priority chemical. If the
department determines that current information does not indicate that a safer alternative is
available or is a technically feasible replacement for a priority chemical, the department
shall designate that chemical a Level 2 priority chemical. By February 1, 2011, the
department shall publish a list of Level 1 and Level 2 priority chemicals in the State
Register and on the agency's Internet Web site and shall update the published list whenever
a new priority chemical is designated.
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new text begin (b) The department shall designate at least five priority chemicals as Level 1 or
Level 2 by January 1, 2011, and at least five additional priority chemicals as Level 1
or Level 2 by January 1, 2013.
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new text begin (c) The department shall, at least every two years:
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new text begin (1) review the list of chemicals of high concern and determine, which, if any, should
be designated Level 1 or Level 2 priority chemicals; and
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new text begin (2) review the reports submitted by manufacturers under section 116.9408 to
determine if any Level 2 priority chemicals should be designated as Level 1 priority
chemicals.
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Sec. 5.

new text begin [116.9405] DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION ON PRIORITY
CHEMICALS.
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new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Reporting of chemical use. new text end

new text begin Not later than 180 days after Level 1
and Level 2 priority chemicals are identified under section 116.9404, any person who is
a manufacturer or distributor of a children's product for sale in this state that contains a
Level 1 or Level 2 priority chemical shall notify the agency of that fact in writing unless
the children's product is not subject to regulation under section 116.9409. This written
notice must identify the product, the number of units sold or distributed for sale in this
state or nationally during the previous calendar year, the priority chemical or chemicals
contained in the product, and the intended purpose of the priority chemicals in the product.
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Supplemental information. new text end

new text begin The manufacturer or distributor of a
children's product that contains a Level 1 or Level 2 priority chemical shall provide the
following additional information if requested by the agency:
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new text begin (1) information on the likelihood that the chemical will be released from the
children's product to the environment during the children's product's life cycle and the
extent to which users of the children's product are likely to be exposed to the chemical;
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new text begin (2) additional information regarding the potential for harm to human health from
specific uses of the priority chemical; and
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new text begin (3) an assessment of the availability, cost, feasibility, and performance, including
potential for harm to human health of alternatives to the priority chemical and the reason
the priority chemical is used in the manufacture of the children's product in lieu of
identified alternatives. If an assessment acceptable to the agency is not timely submitted as
determined by the agency, the agency may assess a fee on the manufacturer or distributor
to cover the costs to prepare an independent report on the availability of safer alternatives
by a contractor of the agency's choice.
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Sec. 6.

new text begin [116.9409] APPLICABILITY.
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new text begin The requirements of sections 116.9401 to 116.9411 do not apply to:
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new text begin (1) chemicals in used children's products;
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new text begin (2) priority chemicals used in the manufacturing process, but that are not present
in the final product;
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new text begin (3) priority chemicals used in agricultural production;
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new text begin (4) motor vehicles as defined in chapter 168 or watercraft as defined in chapter
86B or their component parts, except that the use of priority chemicals in detachable
car seats is not exempt;
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new text begin (5) priority chemicals generated solely as combustion by-products or that are present
in combustible fuels;
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new text begin (6) retailers, unless that retailer knowingly sells a children's product containing
a priority chemical after the effective date of its prohibition, of which that retailer has
received prior notification from a manufacturer, distributor, or the state;
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new text begin (7) pharmaceutical products or biologics;
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new text begin (8) a medical device as defined in the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, United
States Code, title 21, section 321(h);
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new text begin (9) food and food or beverage packaging, except a container containing baby food or
infant formula; or
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new text begin (10) consumer electronics products and electronic components, including but not
limited to personal computers; audio and video equipment; calculators; digital displays;
wireless phones; cameras; game consoles; printers; and handheld electronic and electrical
devices used to access interactive software or their associated peripherals; or products that
comply with the provisions of directive 2002/95/EC of the European Union, adopted by
the European Parliament and Council of the European Union now or hereafter in effect.
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Sec. 7.

new text begin [116.9410] DONATIONS TO THE STATE.
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new text begin The commissioner may accept donations, grants, and other funds to carry out
the purposes of sections 116.9401 to 116.9411. All such donations, grants, and other
funds must be accepted without preconditions regarding the outcomes of the regulatory
oversight processes set forth in sections 116.9401 to 116.9411.
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Sec. 8.

new text begin [116.9411] PARTICIPATION IN INTERSTATE CHEMICALS
CLEARINGHOUSE.
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new text begin The agency may participate in an interstate chemicals clearinghouse to promote
safer chemicals in consumer products in cooperation with other states, including the
classification of chemicals in commerce; organizing and managing available data on
chemicals, including information on uses, hazards, and environmental and health
concerns; and producing and evaluating information on safer alternatives to specific uses
of chemicals of concern.
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Sec. 9.

new text begin REPORTS.
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new text begin (a) By January 15, 2010, the Department of Health, in consultation with the Pollution
Control Agency, shall report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the senate
and house of representatives committees with primary jurisdiction over environment
and natural resources policy, commerce, and public health regarding the progress on
implementing Minnesota Statutes, sections 116.9401 to 116.9411.
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new text begin (b) By January 15, 2010, the Pollution Control Agency shall report to the chairs and
ranking minority members of the senate and house of representatives committees with
primary jurisdiction over environment and natural resources policy, commerce, and public
health on the agency's plans to implement Minnesota Statutes, section 116.9405, and
assess mechanisms to reduce and phase out the use of priority chemicals in children's
products, including potential funding mechanisms. The report must include information
on the progress of other states in reducing toxic chemicals in children's products. In
developing the report, the agency may consult outside experts and groups working to
reduce toxic chemicals in children's products in Minnesota and nationally.
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Sec. 10. new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE.
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new text begin Sections 1 to 8 are effective the day following final enactment.
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