A1740

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

Assemblywoman LINDA S. CARTER

District 22 (Somerset and Union)

Assemblyman WILLIAM B. SAMPSON, IV

District 31 (Hudson)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywomen Haider, Brennan and Donlon

SYNOPSIS

Prohibits sale of cosmetic products and personal care products containing 1,4-dioxane.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

An Act concerning the presence of hazardous chemicals in certain cosmetic and personal care products and supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. As used in this section:

"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Environmental Protection.

"Cosmetic product" means any article (1) intended to be rubbed, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body or any part thereof for beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance, or (2) intended for use as a component of any such article. "Cosmetic product" does not include any personal care product, as defined in this section, for which a prescription is required for distribution or dispensation.

"Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection.

"Personal care product" means any product intended for cleaning or cleansing any part of the body, such as the skin and hair, and including but not limited to, hair shampoo, hair conditioner, soap, bath gels and other bath products. "Personal care product" does not include any product for which a prescription is required for distribution or dispensation.

b. Commencing one year after the effective date of this section, no person shall sell or offer for sale any cosmetic product or personal care product containing 1,4-dioxane, other than trace concentrations approved by the commissioner pursuant to subsection c. of this section.

c. The commissioner shall establish allowable trace concentrations for 1,4-dioxane in cosmetic products and personal care products. The allowable trace concentrations for cosmetic products shall not exceed 10 parts per million. The allowable trace concentrations for personal care products shall not exceed two parts per million until two years after the effective date of this section, after which they shall not exceed one part per million.

d. No later than three years after the effective date of this section, the commissioner shall review the standards for allowable trace concentrations established pursuant to subsection c. of this section and determine whether such concentrations shall be lowered to better protect human health and the environment.

e. A manufacturer of a cosmetic product or personal care product subject to the requirements of this section may apply to the department for a one-year waiver from the requirements for a specific cosmetic product or personal care product, and upon a showing to the commissioner that the manufacturer has taken steps to reduce the presence of 1,4-dioxane in that product and is unable to comply with the requirements of this section. Thereafter, a manufacturer may apply for one additional one-year waiver for such product, upon its satisfaction of similar proof.

2. The department shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.). adopt rules and regulations as necessary to implement this act.

3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill would prohibit the sale of cosmetic products and personal care products that contain 1,4-dioxane.

The prohibitions on the sale of cosmetic products and personal care products that contain 1,4-dioxane would go into effect one year after the bill's enactment. The bill would direct the Commissioner of Environmental Protection to formulate allowable trace concentrations of 1,4-dioxane in cosmetic and personal care products, and would establish certain maximum thresholds for these allowable trace concentrations. The bill would also allow a manufacturer to apply to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for a waiver for a product if the manufacturer demonstrates that it has taken steps to reduce the presence of 1,4-dioxane in the product and is unable to comply with the requirements of the bill. The bill's provisions are based on Chapter 613 of the 2019 Laws of New York, which similarly prohibits the sale of cosmetic products and personal care products that contain 1,4-dioxane.

1,4-dioxane a clear liquid chemical with a faint sweet odor, which occurs as a byproduct during the manufacturing of certain ingredients in cosmetic, cleaning, and personal care products. Since the 1980s, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended that manufacturers use the "vacuum stripping" technique as a way of reducing 1,4-dioxane in these products. However, the chemical is still widely found, albeit at very low concentrations, in these products. 1,4-dixoane is a hazardous substance and a potential human carcinogen.