2017 -- H 5822

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LC001290

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - FORMALDEHYDE CONTROL

     Introduced By: Representatives Handy, Williams, McEntee, Ackerman, and Amore

     Date Introduced: March 02, 2017

     Referred To: House Health, Education & Welfare

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Title 23 of the General Laws entitled "HEALTH AND SAFETY" is hereby

amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 94

FORMALDEHYDE CONTROL

     23-94-1. Definitions.

     As used in this chapter:

     (1) "Child" means a person under eighteen (18) years of age.

     (2) "Children's product" means a product primarily designed or intended by a

manufacturer to be physically applied to or introduced into a child's body, including any article

used as a component of such a product and excluding a food, beverage, dietary supplement,

pharmaceutical product or biologic, children's toys that are covered by the ASTM International F

963 standard for Toy Safety, or device as defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,

21 U.S.C. 321(h), as amended through February 15, 2013.

     (3) "Formaldehyde" means a colorless, toxic, potentially carcinogenic, water soluble gas,

CH2O, having a suffocating odor, usually derived from methy alcohol by oxidation used chiefly

in an aqueous solution, as a disinfectant and preservative, and in the manufacture of various

resins and plastics.

     23-94-2. Formaldehyde in children's products prohibited.

     Beginning January 1, 2018, no manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer may sell or offer for

sale in this state a children's product that knowingly contains:

     (1) Formaldehyde, including formaldehyde contained in a solution; or

     (2) Intentionally added chemical ingredients that chemically degrade under normal

conditions of temperature and pressure to release free formaldehyde at levels exceeding a de

minimus level of five one-hundredths of one percent (0.05%).

     23-94-3. Formaldehyde replacement prohibited.

     (a) A manufacturer shall not replace formaldehyde, which use is prohibited by this

chapter with a chemical known to the manufacturer to have been identified on the basis of

credible scientific evidence by a state, federal, or international agency as being known or

suspected with a high degree of probability to:

     (1) Harm the normal development of a fetus or child or cause other developmental

toxicity;

     (2) Cause cancer, genetic damage, or reproductive harm;

     (3) Disrupt the endocrine or hormone system; or

     (4) Damage the nervous system, immune system, or organs, or cause other systemic

toxicity.

     23-94-4. Penalties and enforcement.

     (a) Any person violating or failing to comply with any of the requirements of this chapter

shall be subject to a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000).

     (b) The director of the department of health may seek legal, injunctive, or other equitable

relief to enforce this chapter.

     (c) The remedies and penalties provided in this section are cumulative and not exclusive.

     23-94-5. Severability.

     If any provision of this chapter or of any rule or regulation made under this chapter, or its

application to any person or circumstance is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the

remainder of the chapter, rule, or regulation and the application of the provision to other persons

or circumstances shall not be affected by this invalidity. The invalidity of any section or sections

or parts of any section or sections shall not affect the validity of the remainder of the chapter.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - FORMALDEHYDE CONTROL

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     This act would prohibit the use of formaldehyde or formaldehyde replacements in certain

children's products.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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