BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1930
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 27, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Pedro Nava, Chair
AB 1930 (De La Torre) - As Introduced: February 17, 2010
SUBJECT : Consumer safety: glass beads.
SUMMARY : Prohibits the manufacture, sale, offering for sale or
offering for promotional purposes of glass beads containing
arsenic and lead above a specified amount if those beads will be
used with blasting equipment. Specifically, this bill :
1)Prohibits a person from manufacturing, selling, offering for
sale, or offering for promotional purposes glass beads that
contain more than 75 part per million (ppm) arsenic and 100
ppm lead by weight, if those glass beads will be used with
pressure or suction blasting equipment or wet-type or dry-type
blasting equipment.
2)Requires that in order to comply with the requirements of this
bill, the weight percentage of arsenic and lead must be
determined in accordance with EPA 3052 modified and EPA 6010C
or a generally accepted instrumental method with traceable
standards, including X-ray fluorescence.
3)Requires each container or bag of glass beads sold in this
state for surface preparation, including for cleaning,
peening, finishing, and deburring of aluminum and stainless
steel products, and that will be used with pressure or suction
blasting equipment or wet-type or dry-type blasting equipment,
to be labeled with the following: "Glass bead contents
contain less than 75 ppm arsenic and 100 ppm lead, as
determined by EPA 3052 and EPA 6010C or a generally accepted
instrumental method with traceable standards."
EXISTING LAW :
Under Green Chemistry statutes (Health and Safety Code (HSC)
25251 et. seq.):
1)Requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to
identify and prioritize chemicals of concerns and to adopt
regulations to evaluate chemicals of concern in consumer
products, and their potential alternatives, to determine how
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best to limit exposure or to reduce the level of hazard posed
by a chemical of concern.
2)Authorizes DTSC to take the following regulatory actions,
among others, to limit exposure or to reduce the level of
hazard posed by a chemical of concern:
a) Impose requirements on the labeling or other type of
consumer product information;
b) Impose a restriction on the use of the chemical of
concern in the consumer product; and,
c) Prohibit the use of the chemical of concern in the
consumer product.
3)Defines a "consumer product" as a product or part of the
product that is used, bought, or leased for use by a person
for any purpose.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS :
Purpose of the bill : According to the author's office, "Glass
beads are pulverized when they are blown out of an air
compressor to treat surfaces or for other industrial purposes.
The resulting dust, containing excessive levels of heavy metals,
is inhaled by employees or blown into the air potentially
contaminating soil and/or water. The U.S. military recognized
the danger of glass beads containing toxic levels of arsenic and
lead and established a standard to ensure that soldiers,
civilians, and the environment were safe from contamination. In
order to protect individuals and the environment, AB 1930 will
conform California with the U.S. military standard, preventing
the manufacture and sale of glass beads containing an excess of
75 parts per million (ppm) arsenic and 100 ppm lead, by weight."
Related uses of glass beads: Glass beads are used for a variety
of purposes, including as a reflective material for street
striping. However, this bill sets standards only for beads that
will be used with pressure or suction blasting equipment or
wet-type or dry-type blasting equipment. According to the
sponsor, these types of applications include surface preparation
for cleaning, peening, finishing and deburring of aluminum and
stainless steel products. Glass beads are also used to finish
eye glass frames and for deburring and preparing the surfaces of
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medical instruments such as needles used on syringes. Finally,
glass beads are used to remove residues on automotive parts and
to remove calcium buildup at the water line of swimming pools.
Lead and arsenic: recognized hazards: Lead is listed under
California's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of
1986, commonly known as Proposition 65, as a substance that can
cause reproductive damage, birth defects and cancer.
Occupational overexposure to lead can cause subclinical and
clinical peripheral neuropathy [muscle weakness, pain, and
paralysis of extremities], disruption of hemesynthesis and
anemia, loss of kidney function, increased blood pressure,
nephropathy, reduced sperm count and male sterility, and
increase the risk of cancer.
Arsenic is listed under Proposition 65 as a chemical known to
the state to cause cancer and to cause reproductive toxicity.
Non-cancer effects of arsenic exposure include thickening and
discoloration of the skin, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting;
diarrhea; numbness in hands and feet; partial paralysis; and
blindness. Occupational overexposure to arsenic can increase
the risk of skin, lung and possibly lymphatic cancers and lead
to peripheral neuropathy and vascular disease [Reynaud's
phenomenon].
Arsenic in glass beads: According to a study conducted by the
sponsor of the bill, Potters Industries, Inc., arsenic
concentrations were measured in imported Chinese glass beads
ranging from less than 30 parts per million to almost 1,000
parts per million (ppm). The elevated and variable arsenic
concentrations are believed to be attributable to the use of
arsenic in glass manufacturing processes in China, a practice
that was generally discontinued in the United States more than
20 years ago due to environmental and occupational health and
safety regulations. The study concludes that because of market
conditions, it is likely that the import of Chinese manufactured
beads will continue and even expand in the near future,
resulting in greater dispersal of arsenic. The sponsors contend
that the standard in the bill has already been met by the US, EU
and Canadian manufacturers of glass beads, as well as by many
Chinese manufacturers.
California's Green Chemistry Initiative: As part of the Green
Chemistry Initiative, the Governor signed AB 1879 (Feuer and
Huffman) Chapter 559, Statutes of 2008, into law in 2009. AB
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1879 requires DTSC to adopt regulations by January 1, 2011, to
identify and prioritize chemicals of concern, to evaluate
alternatives, and to specify regulatory responses where
chemicals of concern are found in consumer products. "Consumer
product" is broadly defined as a product or part of the product
that is used, bought, or leased for use by a person for any
purpose. The Green Chemistry program should yield a
comprehensive process to identify and regulate chemicals of
concern in products.
Related bills :
AB 2251 (Cook, 2008) Would have prohibited the manufacturing
and selling of reflective glass beads that are used to reflect
light as markings on roadways, if those glass beads contain
inorganic arsenic in more than 75 ppm or an amount adopted by
the Department of Transportation. (Held in As the Assembly
Appropriations Committee).
Issues:
Standards in the bill : This bill prohibits the manufacture,
sale, or promotion of glass beads that contain more than 75
parts per million (ppm) arsenic and 100 ppm lead by weight. It
also requires that weight percentage of arsenic and lead must be
determined in accordance with EPA 3052 modified and EPA 6010C or
a generally accepted instrumental method with traceable
standards, including X-ray fluorescence.
According to the sponsors, the standards set in this bill
correlate to those set by the US Air Force (MIL PRF 9954C) and
the Society of Aeronautic Engineers (AMS 2431/6C). The sponsors
contend, "The arsenic and lead limits were chosen by the
military because they near the practical detection limit (PDL)
for the equipment used to analyze for them - in other words you
can be confident your value is accurate. It is illogical to set
it lower than PDL because 30ppm may actually be 0 while 10ppm
might actually be 45ppm. And we did not set it higher because
it is illogical to allow more arsenic and lead to be released.
In addition, if heavy metals are deliberately added to the glass
when it is manufactured, the heavy metals detected will be much
higher than the levels included in the bill."
While it appears that branches of the United States' military
have set glass bead arsenic and lead standards equivalent to
those in this bill, it is unclear if the standards set in this
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bill are sufficiently protective of worker and public health and
of the environment. Is it appropriate to set standards in
statute, where they cannot be readily adjusted after
consideration of new scientific evidence or of advances in
technology, or is it more effective to set standards through the
existing regulatory process, which is more dynamic?
State authority and enforcement: Just like California's current
prohibition on the use of phthalates in children's products and
on specific flame retardant chemicals, this bill does not extend
express enforcement authority to any state agency. Therefore,
likely the only enforcement of the provisions of this bill would
occur under Unfair Competition Law (Business and Professions
Code 17200 et. seq.). Additionally, since HSC 25257.1 (c)
prohibits DTSC from duplicating or adopting conflicting
regulations for product categories already regulated or subject
to pending regulation, should this bill be signed into law as
currently drafted, DTSC likely would be prohibited from taking
any regulatory action on the products covered by this bill.
Should a state agency, such as DTSC, be expressly authorized to
enforce the provisions of this bill?
Suggested amendments : The Committee may wish to consider the
following amendments to ensure that DTSC retains authority to
further regulate glass beads under existing Green Chemistry
statutes, has enforcement authority over the provisions of this
bill, and has the authority to adjust the standards and
methodology in the bill.
1)Add the following language: "This article does not limit,
supersede, duplicate, or otherwise conflict with the authority
of the department to fully implement Article 14 (commencing
with Section 25251), including the authority of the department
to include products in a product registry established pursuant
to the regulations adopted in accordance with that article.
Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 25257.1, glass
beads shall not be considered as a product category already
regulated or subject to pending regulation for purposes of
Article 14 (commencing with Section 25251)."
2)Move the provisions of the bill to Chapter 6.5 of the Health
and Safety Code, which is the Chapter that relates to
hazardous waste and that gives DTSC explicit enforcement
authority over prohibited chemicals and products.
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3)Amend the bill to provide DTSC with more flexibility in
enforcing the standard, especially as new testing technologies
emerge.
4)Technical amendments:
a) Page 2, line 5, replace "part" with "parts."
b) Page 2, line 3, amend as follows: 108940. (a) A person
shall not manufacture, sell, offer for sale, or offer for
promotional purposes in this state glass beads that contain
more than 75 parts per million (ppm) or more of arsenic and
or 100 ppm or more of lead by weight, if those glass beads
will be used with pressure or suction blasting equipment or
wet-type or dry-type blasting equipment.
c) Page 2, line 21, amend as follows: "Glass bead contents
contain less than 75 ppm arsenic and less than 100 ppm
lead?"
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Potters Industries, Inc. (sponsor)
American Glass Beads Manufacturers Association
Chemical Industry Council of California
Swarco America
Opposition
None received.
Analysis Prepared by : Shannon McKinney / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965