California Department of Toxic Substances Refines Microplastics Research

The American Cleaning Institute (ACI) submitted formal comments to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) in response to the agency’s Background Document on Microplastics in Consumer Products Research.

According to the DTSC website, it is seeking information regarding consumer products that contain or generate microplastics including:

• Exposure data – the potential for products to shed microplastics, and
• Adverse impact data -the potential for microplastic exposure to cause harm.

To view the background document and submit written comments, visit DTSC’s CalSAFER portal. The comment period closed on Jan. 30.

DTSC said it will consider written comments submitted during the public comment period to refine research on microplastics in consumer products as potential priority products.

In its comments, ACI outlined key scientific and regulatory considerations related to polymers used in cleaning products, emphasizing that detergent-grade polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is “safe, water-soluble and biodegradable, and does not behave as a microplastic.”

ACI also highlighted that “robust, internationally recognized methods already exist for measuring polymer solubility and biodegradability, and that many polymers play essential roles in product performance, safety and consumer use.”

“ACI aligns with DTSC’s goal to reduce the release of microplastics into the environment during all stages of the consumer product life cycle,” said Dan Selechnik, director, environmental health and safety, American Cleaning Institute.

Background Document

In November 2025, the DTSC Safer Consumer Products Program at the California Environmental Protection Agency released a Background Document on DTSC’s Microplastics in Consumer Products Research.

According to the document linked here, “The Safer Consumer Products (SCP) Regulations define the process and criteria we use to evaluate consumer products for possible designation as Priority Products. A Priority Product is a consumer product that (1) contains one or more Candidate Chemicals that have the potential to harm people or the environment, and (2) has been formally listed in the California Code of Regulations through rulemaking. As part of the process of evaluating consumer products, we issue a Priority Product Work Plan (Work Plan) every three years, which identifies the product categories the SCP Program may evaluate over that period. In addition to the factors outlined in the SCP Regulations, we evaluate the product categories based on the Work Plan’s stated policy goals.

This document summarizes our preliminary research on microplastics in select consumer products, which fall under DTSC’s current Work Plan product category of products that contain or generate microplastics. Additionally, we evaluated these product-chemical combinations based on the Work Plan priorities of:

· Reducing the release of microplastics to the environment during all stages of the consumer product life cycle, including manufacturing, transportation, use, and end-of-life.

· Protecting California’s valuable and limited water resources and aquatic ecosystems from consumer product-derived chemical contamination.

· Protecting the health of children and workers from potential exposures to Candidate Chemicals in consumer products.

· Reducing potential releases of Candidate Chemicals from consumer products to indoor air and dust.

· Leveraging the work of other boards, departments, and offices within the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) and other state agencies and leveraging our new authorities under SB 502.