Department of Ecology
Committees, Boards, and Workgroups

The Departments of Ecology and Health will use this site to share information and draft documents as we implement Chapter 70A.350 Revised Code of Washington (formerly Chapter 70.365 RCW). Our implementation program for the law is called Safer Products for Washington.

Subscribe to the SaferProductsWA email list to receive updates and invitations for public comment. Contact us at SaferProductsWA@ecy.wa.gov.

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We’re beginning a new cycle of Safer Products for Washington implementation, during which we identify priority chemicals and chemical classes. The Draft Identification of Priority Chemicals Report to the Legislature was available for public comment from June 7 to July 14, 2023. You can:

• Read submitted comments on our online comment form webpage.
• Review the Q&A summary from our June 21, 2023, webinar.

We will read and consider each comment made during the comment period. We’ll also update the Priority Chemicals Report to the Legislature and publish the final version in January 2024.

In 2022, the Washington State Legislature amended the Safer Products for Washington law to add an additional cycle of work focusing on PFAS in consumer products. This new cycle falls between cycle 1 and cycle 2, so we're calling it cycle 1.5. In cycle 1.5, we’ll focus on making regulatory determinations on products identified in our 2021 PFAS Chemical Action Plan (CAP).

We’re looking at regulatory determinations for these product categories:

• Apparel and gear
• Firefighting personal protective equipment
• Cleaning products — including products to wash cars
• Waxes — including floor waxes and polishes, car waxes, and ski waxes
• Nonstick cookware and kitchen supplies
• Hard surface sealants

We plan to publish our Cycle 1.5 Draft Regulatory Determinations Report in early December and begin a comment period at the same time.

Please save the date for our upcoming webinars on December 13 and 14. We’ll share the same content during both webinars – an overview of the draft report and an introduction to rulemaking for cycle 1.5.

Please join us for a webinar and bring your questions!

• Wednesday, December 13, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. PST (Zoom details coming soon)
• Thursday, December 14, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. PST (Zoom details coming soon)

On May 31, 2023, we adopted a new rule, Chapter 173-337 WAC—Safer Products Restrictions and Reporting. This new chapter establishes a regulatory program to reduce toxic chemicals in consumer products and increase product ingredient transparency, as directed by Washington law. Consumers use hundreds of items every day. Many of these products contain chemicals that are hazardous to human health and the environment. Ecology adopted a new rule to regulate hazardous chemicals in consumer products.

The adopted rule:

• Implements the regulatory actions reported to the Washington State Legislature in June 2022.
• Creates reporting requirements and restrictions that apply to priority consumer products that contain priority chemicals. These include:
  • PFAS in aftermarket stain- and water-resistance treatments, carpets and rugs, and leather and textile furnishings.
  • Ortho-phthalates in vinyl flooring and in personal care product fragrances.
  • Organohalogen flame retardants in electric and electronic products.
  • Flame retardants (as defined in RCW 70A.350.010) in recreational polyurethane foam.
  • Phenolic compounds in laundry detergent, food and drink can linings, and thermal paper.
• Addresses existing stock, repair and replacement parts, refurbished products, and previously owned products.

The adopted rule became effective on July 1, 2023. Some manufacturers, distributors, and retailers must comply with restrictions on some consumer products starting on January 1, 2025. Reporting parties must submit the first notification by January 31, 2025. The Safer Products for Washington Cycle 1: Adopted Rule Highlights document provides an overview of the restrictions and reporting requirements for fourteen chemical-product combinations. 

With our partners at the Department of Health, we published the final Report to the Legislature on Regulatory Determinations, for the first Safer Products for Washington cycle.

We made a number of changes to integrate feedback from our stakeholders and communities. Read how we incorporated feedback in our comment overview. If interested, you can view comments from other stakeholders on the draft report. To hear a summary of the results from our public comment survey, watch our video covering the highlights (also available in Spanish). For more details, check out our infographic (also available in Spanish) and blog post covering the results. You can also review the complete, unedited responses to the survey.

Part of our work to determine regulatory actions involves requesting information from manufacturers about their products. We request this information using Administrative Orders. While we must use an “order” to request the information, we want to emphasize that these orders are not associated with any manufacturer being out of compliance.

The information manufacturers must provide through these orders will help us assess the current presence of priority chemicals or chemical classes in priority products. If you manufacture a priority product included in our report to the Legislature, we may contact you to provide information about your use of priority chemicals. Manufacturers have six months to collect and submit the information to us, and they can request that we keep the information they submit confidential. Please reach out to us at SaferProductsWA@ecy.wa.gov if you have questions about the process for these orders.

Order for ortho-phthalates in vinyl flooring data

We ordered information from vinyl flooring manufacturers on the presence of ortho-phthalates in vinyl flooring sold in Washington. Find more details about what information we asked manufacturers for and what they provided in our overview of the vinyl flooring manufacturer data. 

The law requires us to develop a stakeholder advisory process by June 1, 2020. We engage interested parties at every major stage in our implementation process. We aim for transparency and to involve our stakeholders in decisions affecting their lives and businesses. To learn more about our progress to date, read our stakeholder engagement process (updated November 2021).

Chapter 70A.350 RCW (formerly Chapter 70.365 RCW) creates a process for Ecology, in consultation with Health, to regulate classes of chemicals in consumer products. The law requires us to designate priority chemicals, identify products that contain these chemicals, determine regulatory actions, and adopt rules to implement regulatory actions. Chemical restrictions require that safer alternatives are feasible and available. The law outlines steps that involve stakeholder consultation, legislative reporting, and rulemaking.

The first set of priority chemical classes were identified in the law. They are:

• Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) 
• Phthalates
• Organohalogen flame retardants and flame retardants identified in RCW 70A.430 
• Phenolic compounds
• Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

The first set of priority products we identified in our 2020 priority products report are below. You can also view the comments we received on the priority products report. 

• Flame retardants
  • Electric and electronic equipment
  • Recreational polyurethane foam
• PCBs
  • Paints and printing inks
• PFAS
  • Carpet and rugs
  • Aftermarket stain and water resistance treatments
  • Leather and textile furnishings
• Phenolic compounds 
  • Laundry detergent (alkylphenol ethoxylates)
  • Thermal paper (bisphenols)
  • Food and drink cans (bisphenols)
• Phthalates
  • Vinyl flooring
  • Personal care products

The first five deadlines in the law are:

• Learn how to reduce your exposure to PFAS in your home.
  • En español: Reduzca su exposición a las PFAS
• Learn how to reduce your exposure to flame retardants in your home.
  • En español: Reduzca su exposición a materiales resistentes al fuego
• Find more information about Ecology's Phthalates Action Plan. 
• Find more information about Ecology's PFAS Chemical Action Plan. 
• See updates on Ecology's PFAS in Food Packaging Alternatives Assessment. 

ADA Accessibility: The Department of Ecology is committed to providing people with disabilities access to information and services by meeting or exceeding the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Washington State Policy #188. To request an ADA accommodation, contact Ecology by phone at 360-407-6700 or email at hwtrpubs@ecy.wa.gov. For Washington Relay Service or TTY call 711 or 877-833-6341. Visit Ecology’s website for more information.