California State Senate
California State Senate
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SACRAMENTO, CA 95814
(916) 651-4011
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Senator.Simitian@sen.ca.gov
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Senator.Simitian@sen.ca.gov
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S. JOSEPH SIMITIAN
ELEVENTH SENATE DISTRICT
Fact Sheet
Senate Bill 291: Design for the Environment
Summary:
This bill would authorize the formation of the California Design for the Environment
program. This voluntary program would provide information to firms and industries
regarding substitute chemicals, processes and technologies aimed at pollution prevention
while allowing these companies to be equally if not more cost-competitive.
Need for the bill:
A 2006 study by the California Policy Research Center found that chemicals are causing
an array of problems for health and the environment, business, industry and government
in California. Just one of these problems is that hundreds of chemicals that are released
into the environment are accumulating in human tissues. The results are alarming.
Among children, chemical exposures are estimated to contribute to 100% of lead
poisoning cases, 10% to 35% of asthma cases, 2% to 10% of certain cancers, and 5% to
20% of neurobehavioral disorders. Furthermore, each month an estimated 1,900
Californians are diagnosed with a preventable, deadly chronic disease that is attributable
to chemical exposures in the workplace and another 540 Californians die as a result of
that exposure.
Lacking the information on toxicity for most chemicals, it is very difficult for businesses
and industry to choose safer chemicals or to identify and reduce the use of hazardous
chemicals.
The federal Design for the Environment (DfE) program was established in 1992 in order
to provide some of this information. Since that time DfE has worked with more than 18
industrial sectors to empower industry to incorporate environmental considerations, along
with performance and cost considerations, into decision-making processes. The program
Last updated: 02/15/16
has reached more than 200,000 business facilities and approximately 2,000,000 workers,
reducing the use of harmful chemicals by approximately 237,000,000 pounds per year.
This bill authorizes the establishment of a California program modeled after the federal
Design for the Environment program. This program would ensure that more California
firms and industries have access to this type of information while enabling our state to
become a global leader in this arena.
Staff Contact: Nina Kapoor (916)804-5754 (nina.kapoor@sen.ca.gov)
Last updated: 02/15/16