State scientists are researching toxic chemicals found in products such as architectural paints, skin care items, and nail polishes.
What do earrings, artificial sports turf, and household adhesives for windows have in common? They’re all product categories Ecology’s researching as part of the Safer Products for Washington program.
These products may seem routine – things around your home, at your children’s playground, or in your bathroom – but many contain chemicals that harm human health and the environment.
Some of these chemicals are known to stick around the environment instead of breaking down. Others can build up in our bodies over time. And many are used in ways that can potentially expose children, workers, and communities near manufacturing and disposal sites.
We recently named nine priority product categories that are sources or uses of these harmful chemicals in our Identification of Priority Products Report.
Here's what we’re researching:
- Artificial turf for PFAS and 6PPD
- Cosmetics, like hair and skin care products, for cyclic volatile methylsiloxanes
- Insulation for organohalogen flame retardants
- Jewelry and accessories for lead and cadmium
- Nail products for BTEX substances (e.g., toluene)
- Architectural paints for PFAS and alkylphenol ethoxylates
- Plastic packaging for organochlorine substances (e.g., PVC and PVDC)
- Sealants, caulks, and adhesives, commonly used in building maintenance, for ortho-phthalates
- Solid deodorizers for organochlorine substances (e.g., 1,4-dichlorobenzene)
We’re also researching chemicals and products from prior cycles, such as PCBS in printing inks, PFAS in cookware and kitchen supplies, firefighting PPE, sealers, and floor waxes and polishes, and 6PPD in motor vehicle tires.
What happens next? Research!
We’re studying how these chemicals – and potential alternatives – are used in each product category, and whether safer alternatives are feasible and available. Identifying safer alternatives helps us find ways to avoid these sources and uses of toxic chemicals in the first place.
When safer alternatives to toxic chemicals are feasible and available for use in products, we can restrict use of the toxic chemicals in consumer products. Over time, this means everyday items like food packaging, personal care products, and household goods can become safer as harmful chemicals are phased out and better options take their place.
This research is the basis for the next step of our regulatory process: developing draft regulatory determinations we’ll share in late 2026 for public comment and finalize in June 2027.
Draft rule proposes regulations for “forever chemicals” in consumer products
We also have a rulemaking in progress that focuses on regulating PFAS—a class of “forever chemicals” that don’t break down in the environment. Ecology is proposing a rule to limit forever chemicals in clothes, cleaning products, and car washes, while also requiring companies to tell us when they’re used in nine other product categories.
We’re collecting public feedback until July 20, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. To learn more about this proposed regulation or to provide testimony (verbal comments for the official record), attend a rulemaking hearing on July 9 or July 10.
Want updates on reducing harmful chemicals in Washington? It’s easy; follow us on social media and sign up for the Safer Products for Washington newsletter to get the latest updates about our work, tips for safer living, and announcements about future events.
Ecology’s Safer Products for Washington program is designed to reduce human and environmental harm by restricting certain toxic chemicals when safer alternatives are available. For more information, visit ecology.wa.gov/Safer-Products-WA.