EPA Updates Safer Chemical Ingredients List
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) added 36 chemicals to the Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL). The SCIL is a living list of chemicals, by functional-use class, that EPA’s Safer Choice program has evaluated and determined meet Safer Choice criteria. Chemicals on the SCIL are among the safest for their functional use.
In support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals, the addition of chemicals to the SCIL enables further innovation in safer chemistry, which can promote environmental justice, bolster resilience to the impacts of climate change, and improve water quality. EPA is committed to updating the SCIL with safer chemicals on a regular basis.
This SCIL is a critical resource that can be used by many different stakeholders.
- Product manufacturers use the SCIL to help them make high-functioning products that contain safer ingredients.
- Chemical manufacturers use this list to promote the safer chemicals they manufacture.
- Retailers use the list to help shape their sustainability programs.
- Environmental and health advocates use the list to support their work with industry to encourage the use of the safest possible chemistry.
EPA’s Safer Choice program certifies products containing ingredients that have met the program’s human health and environmental safety criteria. The Safer Choice program allows companies to use its label on products that meet the Safer Choice Standard. EPA’s website contains a complete list of Safer Choice-certified products. In the coming year, EPA hopes to expand the Safer Choice program to make products containing safer chemicals increasingly available to underserved communities, including communities of color and low-income communities.