The Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday its seeking input into the expansion of its Safer Choice and potentially its Design for Environment (DfE) programs to include certification of products that don’t include per- and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
The agency announced a 45-day public comment period and will hold a listening session webinar on Aug. 29 to gather feedback on certification of the proposed additional product categories.
Safer Choice and DfE are voluntary EPA programs designed to help consumers, businesses and purchasers find cleaning and disinfectant products that perform and meet stringent EPA criteria for effects on human health and the environment.
The EPA is proposing the changes due to increasing consumer interest in chemicals used in products, the agency said. The agency is seeking input on which new product categories Safer Choice and DfE could expand into and how the potential expansion offers significant benefit to human health and the environment.
As with cleaning products, the EPA would evaluate each ingredient against a stringent set of health and environmental criteria outlined in its Safer Choice Standard. The changes would help give consumers a choice of products that meet EPA’s high standard for human and environmental health and would not contain intentionally added PFAS, the agency said.
The EPA webinar to solicit input from stakeholders, including manufacturers and distributors, retailers, community groups and representatives from states, Tribal Nations, non-profit organizations, trade associations, and others.
