Pressure Points
An opportunity
for smarter regulations
The U.S. government has a long history of improving
public health and safety through laws and regulations.
However, well-intentioned regulations can become
outdated, duplicative or overly restrictive in today’s modern and
rapidly changing marketplace.
Whether it is under a Republican or Democratic administration,
the business community always has the opportunity to
point out areas of regulation where a small change can have a
big impact. Just such an opportunity arose when the Household
& Commercial Products Association (HCPA) met with
officials at the U.S. Dept. of Transportation (DOT) on May
By elevating our issues and making
clear arguments for the benefits to
consumers and manufacturers,
our industry has an opportunity to
update and harmonize regulations
to better align with the international
community, removing inequities
in the market.
14 to share four changes that could have major benefits for
consumers and aerosol manufacturers.
The first change is an update to an outdated regulation. In
order for the DOT’s Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration (PHMSA) to initiate rule-making, they must
be petitioned and industry must demonstrate “equivalent or
better” safety improvements through data, while capturing the
cost and benefits of any modifications within the regulations.
Product safety testing regulations benefit from the inclusion
of performance-based and safety criteria, rather than being
based solely on the use of a specific testing technology. This
allows industry to adopt new technologies to enable continuous
improvement or advances not envisioned when originally
adopted.
This is exactly the case that HCPA made regarding aerosol
water bath testing alternatives in a meeting with top officials at
PHMSA.
Elevating this issue with PHMSA opens the door for manufacturers
to one day explore alternative test methods that are
more efficient, cost-effective, sustainable and can be tailored
for their specific product or process while meeting or exceeding
safety requirements. By moving to performance-based
criteria, manufacturers can choose to continue with water bath
testing, however HCPA hopes that future work with PHMSA
will make more innovative, and equally as safe, alternatives
available. As an outcome of the May 14 meeting, HCPA will
be working with other trade associations to petition PHMSA
to allow alternative testing in place of the water bath test
requirement.
The second, third and fourth requests revolve around harmonization
of regulations. For international harmonization,
we will be asking PHMSA to modify the 49 CFR 173.306 to
allow for limited quantities of flammable propellants (Division
2.1 gases) when in plastic aerosol containers. Flammable
propellants are currently allowed in metal aerosol containers
in the U.S. They are also allowed in plastic aerosol containers
under The European Agreement concerning the International
Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR).
Given that the technology and science around plastic aerosol
packaging is poised to evolve well beyond the current list of
only four allowed resins, HCPA asked PHSMA to modify the
49 CFR 178.33b-5 to remove the specified material types from
which aerosol plastic containers can be manufactured. With
both modifications, it will be easier for manufacturers and
marketers to bring new and innovative aerosol products to the
U.S. market—many of which can already be sold in other parts
of the world.
Lastly, we are continuing our efforts to align the U.S. definition
of aerosol with the global community. On Sept. 27, 2017,
HCPA, with allied trade associations, submitted a petition to
PHMSA on the Global Harmonization of the Definition of an
Aerosol1, which PHMSA is still in the process of reviewing—
and HCPA was able to emphasize the importance of this issue
in the May 14 meeting.
By elevating our issues and making clear arguments for the
benefits to consumers and manufacturers, our industry has
an opportunity to update and harmonize regulations to better
align with the international community, removing inequities
in the market.
A collaborative effort among players in the aerosol space
will accelerate this process and provide a competitive business
environment that will foster innovation. If you have further
questions about this opportunity or would like to discuss other
regulations the industry should look to improve upon, please
do not hesitate to contact me at ngeorges@thehcpa.org. Spray
1Petition Number P-1707 (Docket No. PHMSA-2017-0131). https://www.
regulations.gov/docket?D=PHMSA-2017-0131 (submitted by HCPA
formerly known as the Consumer Specialty Products Association)
10 Spray July 2018
NICHOLAS GEORGES
Director, Scientific Affairs, HCPA