The Legislature recently enacted amendments to Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) Article 35 and Article 37 to establish limits on the amount of 1,4-dioxane that can be present in household cleansing, personal care, and cosmetic products sold or offered for sale in New York State. The law establishes a maximum allowable concentration of 2 ppm of 1,4 dioxane on December 31, 2022, and 1 ppm on December 31, 2023, for household cleansing and personal care products. The law also establishes maximum allowable concentration of 10 ppm of 1,4 dioxane on December 31, 2022, for cosmetics.
Program Policy on Waiver Process
In 2019, the Legislature amended ECL Articles 35 and 37 to establish maximum concentrations of 1,4-dioxane in household cleansing, personal care and cosmetic products as of December 31, 2022. The law includes provisions to allow a manufacturer to apply for a one-year waiver from compliance, up to two times, based on the submission of proof to DEC that the manufacturer has taken steps to reduce the presence of 1,4-dioxane in their product or products and is still unable to comply with the statutory limits. The program policy may be found at the following link: DEC Program Policy (PDF, 310 KB).
Approved Waivers
After DEC reviews and issues an approval for a waiver application request, the following information will be made available: the name of the manufacturer, the product name, and the current amount of 1,4 Dioxane present in each product. This information is updated on a monthly basis and may be viewed at the following link:
1,4 Dioxane Approved Waivers
Questions about the forms or process to obtain a waiver may be directed to [email protected]
Submitting a Waiver Request
Manufacturers may submit a waiver request as early as October 1, 2021. Applications must contain a completed Certification Form and Product Identification sheet, as well as any applicable Explanations of Proof. DEC has published Program Policy DMM-02 Guidelines for Waiver Process per ECL 35-0105(6) and ECL 37-0117(7) (PDF, 919KB), which sets forth the process for manufacturers to submit a waiver request and clarifies the proof DEC will require to grant a waiver. Please download the PDF prior to filling it out. Versions of these documents for submission are attached to the Program Policy.
Please note, the PDF forms must be downloaded prior to filling them out.
If you encounter any issues with the forms, please notify use via email at [email protected]. If you are not able to access the Excel spreadsheet attached to the Certification Form pdf, please use this version.
To submit a waiver application via email, send a completed and signed (electronic signature preferred) pdf to [email protected] with the subject line "1,4-Dioxane Waiver Application: [company name]".
To submit a waiver application via regular mail, send a completed and signed set of forms to the address below. When printing the spreadsheet, please ensure none of the information entered into a cell is cut off, all of the columns are visible on the same sheet of paper, and gridlines are visible in the printed document.
If the manufacturer is claiming any of the information submitted as a trade secret or confidential business information under 6 NYCRR Part 616, a redacted and unredacted version of any document submitted must be sent. Unredacted versions must contain a clear confidentiality notice at the beginning and clearly show which pieces of information are confidential throughout the document.
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Division of Materials Management
Bureau of Waste Reduction and Recycling
Pollution Prevention Unit
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-7253
Outreach Information
DEC held two virtual public meetings to present and discuss the topics related to the law and regulations that may be developed. During the first meeting on November 18, 2020, DEC presented topics for discussion, which included the scope of covered products and the waiver process. A recording of the first meeting is available for review. The second virtual public meeting was held on December 2, 2020 and was a discussion of the information presented during the first meeting. Further outreach on the implementation of the law has been ongoing.
Regulations
On December 6, 2023, DEC proposed regulations that would add a new subpart 352-1 to implement the amendments to Article 35 and Article 37 of the ECL (the Law). Specifically, these regulations establish a process for the waiver provision provided for in the Law, define the scope of covered products, and establish a standardized method of quantifying the 1,4-dioxane in covered products. A public hearing was held on February 6, 2024. Listen to the recording of the public hearing.
The public comment period closed on February 12, 2024. Comments received were addressed and the final regulations went into effect on September 4, 2024. View the rulemaking documents.
