U.S. – Maine Proposes Reporting Rule for PFOS in Certain Children’s Products

Vol. 1069 | 05 Apr 2019

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has proposed to designate perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) as priority chemicals under its Safer Chemicals in Children's Products rules.

Designating a substance as a priority chemical by the Department of Environmental Protection requires reporting by manufacturers and distributors when the substance is intentionally added to regulated children's products.

Following is a summary of the proposed rule:

• Products within scope of the rule: child care articles, children's clothing, children's footwear, children's sleepwear, children's toys, cookware, tableware, reusable food and beverage containers, cosmetics and personal care products, craft supplies, electronic devices, and household furniture and furnishings.
• Information to be submitted:
• The name and address of the manufacturer and the name, address, and phone number of a contact person for the manufacturer;
• A description of the manufacturer's product or products containing PFOS, including the overall size of the product and/or the component of the product that contains PFOS and whether the product or PFOS containing component of the product can be placed in the mouth (if a reportable item is smaller than 5 centimeters in one dimension, it is regarded as mouthable);
• The amount of PFOS in each unit of the product reported;
• The function of PFOS in the product reported;
• The number of product units sold or distributed in Maine or nationally, and
• Any other information the manufacturer deems relevant to the reporting

Once approved, the effective date will be published with the final rule. No later than 180 days after the effective date of this chapter, the manufacturer or distributor of a consumer product that falls within the above-mentioned categories will have to submit relevant reports to the Department of Environmental Protection. For products whose sale does not commence until the close of the 180-day reporting period, written notices are required to be submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection within 30 days of sale in the state of Maine.

The Department of Environmental Protection will also collect a one-time reporting fee intended to cover information management costs. The fee will be determined once all reports have been collected.

Public comments on the proposed rules can be submitted until May 6, 2019, 5:00 p.m. EDT. The proposed rule can be viewed at: http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/attach.php?id=1198253&an=2

For questions, please contact Laxmi Ravikumar (laxmi.ravikumar@intertek.com, 630-209-9265) or Pratik Ichhaporia (pratik.ichhaporia@intertek.com, 847-212-8273).