California moves to curb toxic chemicals

The state of California has implemented a Green Chemistry Program with the signing of two bills by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The program, which the governor's office called the first in the nation, is designed to reduce or eliminate hazardous chemicals in products and the environment.

That could be a boon to cleantech companies that have designed technologies using natural chemistry or have developed systems that can cut down on toxic chemicals with efficient processes.

Bill AB 1879 establishes authority for the state's Department of Toxic Substances Control to develop regulations for identifying and prioritizing chemicals of concern and to create methods for analyzing alternatives. The second bill, SB 509, creates an online Toxics Information Clearinghouse, a database for consumers about the toxicity and hazards of chemicals used in California.

"We used to address this problem in the legislature on a chemical-by-chemical, or product-by-product basis but we know that that was not the best way to go about it," said Gov. Schwarzenegger in a news conference. "Now we will deal with the issue in a systemic and comprehensive manner the way it requires."

Companies like Melbourne, Fla.-based TyraTech (AIM: TYR), which uses natural chemistry to make pesticides, would likely benefit from stricter regulations on the use of hazardous chemicals in California.

Originally backed with funds from XL TechGroup, TyraTech has deals for licensing or supply with Japan's Arysta LifeScience, Switzerland's Syngenta and Illinois' Kraft Foods, and an option agreement with Ohio's Scotts Miracle-Gro (see Don't let the bedbugs bite).

The company is also working on a system to clean up cattle waste, designing an on-site system for dairy farmers which can separate the liquid from the solids, then compost the solids, producing an odorless, pathogen-free soil material, which can be used as an alternative to peat moss (see TyraTech cleans up cow pies).

Bill Magavern, director of the Sierra Club of California, said that the new California regulations are needed to stop the onslaught of toxic products that have been showing up in the state.

"In the past, the Department of Toxic Substances Control has been able to say that a lead-contaminated lunchbox would have to be classified as a hazardous waste when it's thrown out but could do nothing to protect our children eating their lunches out of that lead-tainted lunchbox."

"So we need to go back to look at the front end of the process and these bills will put the experts in our executive branch agencies in charge of protecting Californians from harmful substances in products."

Although the bulk of consumer products are produced outside of California, the Golden State is one of the world's largest markets for those products. It's the most populous U.S. state and could end up affecting a number of industries with this new legislation.

The legislation doesn't list which chemicals are of concern to the state, but the Department of Toxic Substances Control is required to have a process up and running by Jan. 1, 2011, that it can use to judge potentially dangerous chemicals.

The department will have the authority to take action following an assessment ranging from no action to restrictions or bans. In addition to looking at the volume of a chemical in the state, as well as the potential effects on infants and children, the department will also look at other nations that have similar chemical legislation in place.

Earlier this month, the European Union enacted tough environmental standards for batteries (see EU readies new battery mandates). The move imposes restrictions on and requires labeling of batteries that contain mercury, cadmium or lead.

San Diego-based PowerGenix, which makes rechargeable nickel-zinc batteries, already has plans to tackle the European market (see PowerGenix non-toxic batteries coming to market). In March, the company announced that its batteries met the European Union's requirements for the Reduction of Hazardous Substances as well as the EU's 2006 Battery Directive

PowerGenix's non-toxic batteries are expected to hit the U.S. market this fall.

"With these two landmark bills we will stop looking at toxins as an inevitable byproduct of industrial production," said Schwarzenegger. "Instead, they will be something that can be removed from every product in the designer stage, protecting people's health and our environment from cradle to grave."

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