NY DEC Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program — Recommended BMPs (post-2020 court-ruling guidance)
This is the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NY DEC) Recommended Best Management Practices (BMP) document for household-cleansing-product information disclosure. The BMPs operationalise the statutory disclosure requirement at 6 NYCRR Part 659.6, which is authorised by Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) Article 35 and which requires “manufacturers of household cleansing products distributed, sold, or offered for sale” in New York State to “furnish to the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation … such information regarding such products as the Commissioner may require, in such form as may be prescribed by the Commissioner,” including “a list naming each ingredient,” “the content by weight of each ingredient,” and “the nature and extent of investigations and research performed by or for the manufacturer concerning the effects on human health and the environment of such product[s] or such ingredients” (statute text quoted at p. 1, Purpose and Background). The regulation permits Confidential Business Information (CBI) to be withheld from disclosure subject to procedural protections at 6 NYCRR 616.7.
The document is the working guidance instrument after the NYS Supreme Court declared DEC’s predecessor “Program Policy on Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure” null and void (Household & Commercial Products Association v. Seggos, August 2020 ruling). DEC maintains the BMP document as recommended practice while moving forward to implement the underlying statute and regulation (Purpose and Background, p. 1). DEC’s determination is that the most efficient, cost-effective, and accessible disclosure venue is the manufacturer’s own website, posted “in a manner that is obvious, noticeable and readily accessible, via the internet, to both DEC and the public” (p. 1).
Heavy-metal relevance is concentrated in two structural features. First, the BMP framework defines a four-class ingredient taxonomy — “intentionally added ingredients,” “fragrance ingredients,” “nonfunctional byproducts,” and “nonfunctional contaminants” (Section A.2 Covered Products and Definitions, pp. 2–4) — that explicitly captures heavy metals under the nonfunctional contaminant category, defined as “a chemical present in the environment as a contaminant which was introduced into a product, a raw material, or a product ingredient at any point in a product, a raw material, or an ingredient’s supply chain, as a result of the use of an environmental medium, such as a naturally occurring mineral, air, soil or water, in the manufacturing process” (p. 4). Second, Section A.3 (pp. 4–7) sets numerical disclosure thresholds for nonfunctional contaminants below trace levels via a five-step hierarchy of threshold sources, the highest-ranked of which is the NY DOH Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for drinking water, followed by EPA pre-MCL drinking-water values for 1,4-dioxane (350 ppt) and PFOA/PFOS combined (70 ppt), then the CA Prop 65 warning trigger level for chemicals on the Prop 65 list, then a default 50 ppb for any chemical not covered by the preceding levels (Section A.3.b, p. 6). Heavy metals appearing on any of the 23 Appendix B “Lists of Chemicals of Concern” — which include NY DOH MCLs (Pb, Cd, As, Cr among heavy metals), CA MCLs, CA Prop 65, IRIS Neurotoxicants (Pb, Hg), IRIS Carcinogens (As, Cd, Cr-VI, Ni compounds), ATSDR Neurotoxicants (Pb, Hg, As, Cd, Mn), US EPA Priority Chemicals List (Pb, Cd, Hg, Cr-VI compounds), WA PBTs (Cd, Pb, Hg compounds), IARC Carcinogens (As, Cd, Cr-VI, Ni compounds in Groups 1/2A/2B), US NTP Carcinogens (As, Cd, Cr-VI, Ni compounds), Marine Priority Action Chemicals (Pb, Cd, Hg), and others (Appendix B, pp. 17–19) — fall within the disclosure umbrella at the threshold determined by the highest-ranked applicable list.
The BMP document is held in the Heavy Metal Index corpus as the primary record of New York State’s recommended disclosure framework for household cleansing products and as the regulatory-context citation for the heavy-metal disclosure thresholds that the framework establishes for cleaning-product manufacturers selling into the New York market.
Key numbers
The document reports no contamination measurements. The reportable quantitative content is the set of numerical thresholds, ingredient-classification cuts, and disclosure-hierarchy values that the BMPs establish for the disclosure framework.
Section A.3 Confidential Business Information and Extent of Disclosure — nonfunctional contaminant disclosure thresholds (pp. 6–7)
Threshold hierarchy for a nonfunctional contaminant present below trace levels but above the practical quantitation limit (PQL) and on one or more Appendix B chemicals-of-concern lists. The applicable threshold is selected by the highest-ranked source from the following:
| Rank | Threshold source | Trigger value | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NY DOH Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for drinking water | Value at or above the MCL listed in Tables 1, 3, 3A, and 7 of 6 NYCRR 5-1.52 | 10 NYCRR Subpart 5-1.52 (NY DOH MCLs) |
| 2 | 1,4-dioxane (in absence of NY DOH MCL) | ≥ 350 ppt | EPA assessment of drinking-water concentration representing 1 × 10⁻⁶ cancer risk |
| 3 | PFOA + PFOS combined (in absence of NY DOH MCL) | ≥ 70 ppt combined | EPA health advisory level for PFOA + PFOS in drinking water |
| 4 | CA Prop 65 warning-trigger concentration (for any chemical on the Prop 65 list named in Appendix B for which a NY DOH MCL has not been issued) | Value at or above the concentration triggering a Prop 65 product warning | Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Cal. Health & Safety Code § 25249.5) |
| 5 | Default (any chemical not covered by the preceding levels) | ≥ 50 ppb | (default) |
The BMP text additionally lists exceptions: trace nonfunctional ingredients not on an Appendix B list need not be disclosed (Section A.3.c, p. 7), and knowledge of nonfunctional ingredients may be based on raw-material supplier information without requiring independent chemical analysis by the manufacturer (p. 7).
Section A.3 — trace-quantity statutory definitions (p. 6)
| Term | Statutory definition | Threshold | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trace quantity (intentionally added ingredients) | Incidental amount that is part of the formulation but does not exceed one tenth of one percent of the product contents by weight | < 0.1 % (< 1,000 ppm) | 6 NYCRR Part 659.1(b)(1)(ii) |
| Trace quantity (nonfunctional ingredients) | Incidental amount that is not part of the formulation, is present only as an unintentional consequence of manufacturing, and does not exceed one half of one percent of the product contents by weight | < 0.5 % (< 5,000 ppm) | 6 NYCRR Part 659.1(b)(1)(i) |
Appendix E — consolidated Table of New York Disclosure Levels (p. 22)
The summary table consolidates the disclosure thresholds by ingredient class:
| Type of disclosure | Chemical-of-Concern threshold | ”Other” threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Intentionally added ingredients | No threshold limit | No threshold limit |
| Fragrance ingredients | No threshold limit | No threshold limit (provided that fragrances below 100 ppm not on a chemicals-of-concern list may be grouped and disclosed as “fragrance ingredients” with the number of grouped fragrances disclosed in ranges) |
| Nonfunctional ingredients above trace | 5,000 ppm | 5,000 ppm |
| Nonfunctional byproducts below trace (initial — Appendix D chemicals) | 100 ppm; 1,4-dioxane: 350 ppt; PFOA + PFOS combined: 70 ppt | No disclosure required |
| Nonfunctional byproducts below trace (final — Appendix B chemicals) | Practical Quantitation Limit (PQL) | No disclosure required |
| Nonfunctional contaminants below trace (initial — Appendix D chemicals) | 100 ppm; 1,4-dioxane: 350 ppt; PFOA + PFOS combined: 70 ppt | No disclosure required |
| Nonfunctional contaminants below trace (final — Appendix B chemicals) | Hierarchy: NY DOH MCLs → CA Prop 65 trigger → 50 ppb; with special exceptions 1,4-dioxane 350 ppt and PFOA/PFOS combined 70 ppt | No disclosure required |
“Other” in this table means any chemical not on any of the Appendix B chemicals-of-concern lists.
Section A.3 — fragrance grouping ranges for CBI fragrance ingredients < 100 ppm (p. 5)
A manufacturer withholding fragrance ingredients as CBI (each < 100 ppm and not on an Appendix B list) may group them and disclose the number of withheld fragrances in one of the following ranges: 1–5; 5–10; 10–25; 25–50; 50–100; or over 100.
Section B.3 — product information and disclosure hierarchy levels (pp. 9–10)
Two distinct disclosure-level hierarchies must be displayed using HTML headings on the manufacturer’s website. Each level above and equal to the level achieved must also be displayed. (Section B.2 “Product Information” at pp. 8–9 establishes the required HTML heading structure for the product name, UPC, GS1 brick category, and product description; the level hierarchies reproduced here are under Section B.3 “Extent of Disclosure” at pp. 9–10.)
| Non-fragrance ingredients disclosure level | Definition |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Full Disclosure of All Intentionally Added and Nonfunctional Ingredients (all known intentionally added ingredients including trace; all known nonfunctional ingredients including trace ones on Appendix B lists) |
| Level 2 | Full Disclosure of All Intentionally Added Ingredients (all intentionally added including trace; one or more nonfunctional ingredients withheld as CBI) |
| Level 3 | Partial Disclosure of Intentionally Added Ingredients (one or more intentionally added ingredients withheld as CBI; nonfunctional ingredients may be disclosed or withheld) |
| Fragrance ingredients disclosure level | Definition |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Full Disclosure of All Fragrances (including trace) |
| Level 2 | Partial Disclosure of Fragrances; Master List Provided (some withheld as CBI but a master list of all fragrances used by the manufacturer or by category is posted) |
| Level 3 | Partial Disclosure of Fragrances; No Master List Provided |
| Level 4 | No Disclosure of Fragrances; Master List Provided |
| Level 5 | No Disclosure of Fragrances; No Master List Provided |
Section C.1 — phased-in disclosure-effective-date schedule (p. 14)
The BMP recommends a phased-in approach. The recommended sequence is:
| Phase | Required disclosures |
|---|---|
| Initial posting | Intentionally added ingredients (other than fragrances); nonfunctional ingredients present above trace quantities |
| One year after initial | Fragrance ingredients; Appendix D nonfunctional byproducts at ≥ 100 ppm (1,4-dioxane ≥ 350 ppt; PFOA + PFOS combined ≥ 70 ppt); Appendix D nonfunctional contaminants at ≥ 100 ppm (1,4-dioxane ≥ 350 ppt; PFOA + PFOS combined ≥ 70 ppt) |
| Two and a half years after initial | Nonfunctional byproducts on Appendix B lists at or above PQL; nonfunctional contaminants on Appendix B lists at or above the Section A.3 hierarchy thresholds |
| One year after initial (for non-ingredient information) | Information regarding investigations and research concerning effects on human health and the environment; information regarding GHS Category 3 Skin Irritants and GHS Aquatic Toxins |
Section C.2 — update cadence (p. 15)
Manufacturers should update disclosures (i) each time a product’s ingredients change, (ii) when a new product is introduced, or (iii) when a list of chemicals of concern is updated by its authoritative body — in the last case no later than six months after adoption of the revised list. Legacy data for discontinued products should be posted for two years post-discontinuation. All other disclosed information should be reviewed at least once every two years and updated as necessary.
Appendix A — GS1 GPC brick codes covered by the program (p. 16)
The program covers retail and commercial products meeting the surfactant-cleaning definition that are classified under the listed GS1 Global Product Classification (GPC) brick codes, plus retail/commercial/institutional products meeting the definition that would fall under those bricks if classified. The 24 brick codes are:
| GS1 brick code | Brick name |
|---|---|
| 10000531 | Bleach (Non-FIFRA regulated) |
| 10000746 | Cleaners Other |
| 10000698 | Cleaners Variety Pack |
| 10000442 | Descalers |
| 10000406 | Dish Cleaning/Care – Automatic |
| 10000636 | Dish Cleaning/Care – Hand |
| 10000445 | Dish Care/Protection |
| 10000423 | Drain Treatments/Pipe Unblockers |
| 10006233 | Food Treatments |
| 10000443 | Stain Removers |
| 10000405 | Surface Cleaners |
| 10000426 | Toilet Cleaning Products |
| 10000743 | Detergent Boosters/Laundry Bleaches |
| 10000741 | Fabric Protectors |
| 10000427 | Laundry Color Care |
| 10000424 | Laundry Detergents |
| 10000444 | Laundry Dry Cleaning |
| 10000747 | Laundry Other |
| 10000699 | Laundry Variety Packs |
| 10000749 | Surface Care Other |
| 10000701 | Surface Care Variety Pack |
| 10000434 | Surface Care/Protection |
| 10000694 | Cleaning/Hygiene Products Variety Packs |
Appendix B — Lists of Chemicals of Concern (pp. 17–19)
23 authoritative lists are referenced. Heavy-metal-relevant lists (heavy metals expected to appear) are flagged in the right column.
| List (Appendix B short name) | Authority | Heavy metals expected |
|---|---|---|
| CA Prop 65 | California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (Title 22 CCR Div 2 Subdiv 1 Ch 3 §§ 1200 et seq.) | Pb, Cd, As, Hg, Cr-VI, Ni compounds |
| EU CMRs | EU CLP Reg. (EC) 1272/2008 Annex VI, Category 1A/1B | Pb, Cd, Cr-VI, Ni compounds |
| EU Endocrine Disruptors | REACH Reg. (EC) 1907/2006 Art 59 / Art 57(f) | (mostly organic; few metals) |
| IRIS Neurotoxicants | US EPA IRIS (neurotoxicity reference dose / RfC) | Pb, Hg, Mn |
| IRIS Carcinogens | US EPA IRIS (“carcinogenic / likely / Group A/B1/B2”) | As, Cd, Cr-VI, Ni compounds |
| EU PBTs | REACH Reg. (EC) 1907/2006 Art 59 / Art 57(d)(e)(f) | (mostly organic) |
| Canada PBTs | Canadian Environmental Protection Act Environmental Registry Domestic Substances List | (mostly organic; some metal compounds) |
| EU Respiratory Sensitizers | EU CLP Reg. (EC) 1272/2008 Annex VI Category 1 | Ni compounds, Co compounds |
| IARC Carcinogens | IARC Monographs Groups 1, 2A, 2B | As, Cd, Cr-VI, Ni compounds |
| ATSDR Neurotoxicants | ATSDR Toxic Substances Portal — Nervous System | Pb, Hg, As, Cd, Mn |
| US EPA Priority Chemicals List | EPA Toxics Release Inventory National Waste Minimization Program (PBT) | Pb, Cd, Hg compounds |
| US NTP Reproductive/Developmental Toxicants | NTP “Monograph on the Potential Human Reproductive and Developmental Effects” | Pb compounds |
| US EPA PBTs | EPA TRI Section 313 PBT-reporting chemicals | Pb, Cd, Hg compounds |
| WA PBTs | Washington Administrative Code Title 173 Ch 173-333 | Pb, Cd, Hg compounds |
| US NTP Carcinogens | NTP 13th Report on Carcinogens (RoC) and successors | As, Cd, Cr-VI, Ni compounds |
| CA NLs | California Notification Levels under Health & Safety Code § 116455 | (mostly organic; some inorganic) |
| CA MCLs | California Code of Regulations Title 22 Ch 15 §§ 64431/64444 | Pb, As, Hg, Cr-VI, Cd compounds |
| CA TACs | California Code of Regulations Title 17 §§ 93000/93001 (Toxic Air Contaminants) | Pb, As, Hg, Cd compounds |
| CA Priority Pollutants | California Water Quality Control Plans § 303(c) Clean Water Act / 40 CFR 131.38 | Pb, Cd, Hg, As, Cr, Ni, Zn, etc. |
| CA Non-Cancer Hazards | Cal/EPA OEHHA chemicals with inhalation/oral Reference Exposure Level | many metals |
| CA Priority Chemicals | California Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring Program § 105449 | many metals |
| Marine Priority Action Chemicals | OSPAR Chemicals for Priority Action List Part A | Pb, Cd, Hg compounds |
| EU Fragrance Allergens | EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 Annex III / EU Detergents Reg. 648/2004 | (organic only) |
| AOEC Asthmagens | Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics asthmagen list | Cr-VI, Ni compounds |
| US EPA TSCA Chemicals of Concern | EPA TSCA Chemical of Concern Action Plans | (mostly organic; some metals) |
| US EPA Ozone Depletors | EPA Class I/II Ozone-Depleting Substances | (organic only) |
| NY DOH MCLs | 10 NYCRR Subpart 5-1.52 Tables 1, 3, 3A, 7 | Pb (action level), As, Cr (total), Hg, Cd |
| GLWQA Chemicals of Mutual Concern | 2012 US/Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement Annex 3 | Hg, Pb, Cd compounds |
| NY Air Toxics | 6 NYCRR Subpart 212-2.2 (as defined in 212-1.2(b)(9)) | Pb, As, Hg, Cd, Cr-VI compounds |
Appendix C — Globally Harmonized System (GHS) hazard characteristics required to be disclosed (p. 20)
The product-level hazard-class disclosure list. Five GHS hazard characteristics named:
| GHS hazard characteristic | GHS chapter | Trigger criterion |
|---|---|---|
| GHS Skin Irritant | Ch 3.2 Skin Corrosion/Irritation | Category 1, 2, or 3 skin corrosive or skin irritant; product is classified as corrosive to the skin if pH ≤ 2 or pH ≥ 11.5 unless tested or proven otherwise |
| GHS Eye Irritant | Ch 3.3 Serious Eye Damage/Eye Irritation | Category 1 or 2 eye irritant; product capable of causing serious eye damage if pH ≤ 2 or pH ≥ 11.5 unless tested or proven otherwise |
| GHS Respiratory or Skin Sensitizer | Ch 3.4 Respiratory and Skin Sensitization | Category 1A (high frequency) or 1B (low-to-moderate frequency) |
| GHS Mutagen | Ch 3.5 Germ Cell Mutagenicity | Category 1A (known to induce heritable mutations) or 1B (should be regarded as if induce heritable mutations) |
| GHS Aquatic Toxin | Ch 4.1 Hazardous to the Aquatic Environment | Category 1, 2, or 3 acute or chronic aquatic toxin (median LC₅₀ < 100 mg/L) |
Appendix D — Short List of Chemicals of Concern (p. 21)
36 chemicals listed as the short list of chemicals of concern. No heavy metals appear on this short list — the list is dominated by organic compounds (1,4-dioxane, 1,1-dichloroethane, acrylic acid, benzene, benzidine, 1,3-butadiene, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, ethylene oxide, nitrilotriacetic acid, eight phthalates including DBP/BBP/DEHP/DnOP/DINP/DIDP/DiBP/Dioctyl, five parabens including butyl/ethyl/isobutyl/methyl/propyl, formaldehyde and five formaldehyde-releasing agents including 1-(3-chloroallyl)-3,5,7-triaza-1-azoniaadamantane chloride / DMDM hydantoin / diazolidinyl urea / glyoxal / imidazolidinyl urea / polyoxymethylene urea / sodium hydroxymethylglycinate / 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol, two N-nitrosamines including N-nitrosodimethylamine / N-nitrosodiethylamine, and PFOA + PFOS).
Statutory definitions (Section A.2, pp. 2–6)
| Defined term | Statutory citation | Definition (paraphrased; full text in source) |
|---|---|---|
| Distributed, sold or offered for sale in NY State | ECL § 35-0103 | Products at retail/wholesale or promotional, sold via phone/catalog/internet from manufacturer or authorised parties; excludes second-hand resale |
| Final domestic distributor | (BMP definition) | Entity identified on product label as the person/entity for whom the product is manufactured per Federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act |
| Fragrance ingredient | (BMP definition) | Any intentionally added aroma chemical/essential oil whose sole purpose is to impart or counteract an odor |
| Industrial manufacturing/production/assembly | (BMP definition) | Oil and gas production, steel production, heavy industry manufacturing, industrial water treatment, industrial textile maintenance and processing other than industrial laundering, food and beverage processing and packaging |
| Intentionally added ingredient | (BMP definition) | Chemical added with functional or technical effect; includes components of intentionally added fragrances and colorants, and intentional breakdown products that have a functional/technical effect |
| Manufacturer | (BMP definition) | Person/firm that produces/prepares/formulates/compounds a covered product, identified on the label; importer or first domestic distributor if the brand-name-bearing entity has no US presence |
| Nonfunctional ingredient | (BMP definition) | Ingredient/impurity/contaminant present as unintentional consequence of manufacturing with no functional/technical effect; two mutually exclusive subcategories: nonfunctional byproduct (added or formed during manufacturing) and nonfunctional contaminant (introduced via environmental medium such as mineral, air, soil, water) |
| Practical quantitation limit (PQL) | (BMP definition) | Lowest concentration reliably measured within specified limits of precision, accuracy, representativeness, completeness, and comparability during routine laboratory operating conditions; based on scientifically defensible standard analytical methods; value can differ by matrix and method |
| Covered (cleansing products) | ECL § 35-0103; 6 NYCRR Part 659.1 | Soaps and detergents containing a surfactant as wetting or dirt emulsifying agent used primarily for domestic or commercial cleaning purposes, including cleansing of fabrics, dishes, food utensils, household and commercial premises |
| Not covered (exclusions) | 6 NYCRR Part 659.1 | Foods, drugs, cosmetics (including personal care items such as toothpaste, shampoo, hand soap); pesticides per ECL Article 33; cleansing products used primarily in industrial manufacturing, production, assembling |
Methods (brief)
Not applicable. This is a state-agency Best Management Practices guidance document, not an experimental or surveillance study. There is no sampling, no analytical instrumentation, no contamination measurements. The “method” content of the document is its specification of:
- Website-disclosure form requirements (Section A.1, pp. 1–2): main-website posting; one-click from home page; web page no more than four clicks from home; readily accessible to all users with no registration or CAPTCHA; machine-readable per Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.0 (ISO/IEC 40500:2012); English required, multi-language encouraged; per-product disclosure for products with different formulations (including different fragrances); shared disclosure permitted for products with identical formulations differing only in package size.
- Ingredient-classification taxonomy (Section A.2, pp. 2–6): four classes (intentionally added; fragrance; nonfunctional byproduct; nonfunctional contaminant), with statutory definitions.
- CBI claim procedures (Section A.3, pp. 4–7): CBI as defined in 6 NYCRR 616.7; procedural justification standard; generic-name framework from TSCA Confidential Inventory, ECHA guidance, NJ Trade Secret Registry Number, or Canadian Hazardous Materials Information Review Act for ingredients held as CBI; CBI fragrance < 100 ppm not on Appendix B may be grouped and disclosed as count ranges.
- PQL determination methodology is referenced but not specified in the BMP itself; PQL “value is based on scientifically defensible, standard analytical methods” and “could be different depending on the matrix and the analytical method used” (p. 4). The downstream TCCP draft for children’s products (ny-dec-tccp-2023-chem-pqls-draft) sets explicit PQLs for the heavy metals (e.g., Pb at 1.0 ppm, Cd at 1.0 ppm, tHg at 0.5 ppm, Cr-VI at 3.0 ppm, Ni at 0.05 ppm) under a sister NY DEC program that operates under ECL § 37-0901; those PQLs are not directly imported by the present cleansing-product BMP but illustrate the kind of PQL that would be applied here under the same analytical-methods-defensibility standard.
- Threshold-source ranking algorithm (Section A.3.b, pp. 5–7) for nonfunctional contaminants: NY DOH MCL → 1,4-dioxane special case (350 ppt) → PFOA/PFOS special case (70 ppt combined) → CA Prop 65 trigger → 50 ppb default.
Speciation. The document does not name individual heavy-metal species or set element-specific speciation conventions. The cross-referenced lists handle speciation according to their own conventions (e.g., CA Prop 65 distinguishes Pb from lead compounds, arsenic from inorganic arsenic and arsenic trioxide; IRIS Carcinogens distinguishes Cr-VI from total Cr; ATSDR Neurotoxicants treats Pb and Hg without further species qualification at the list-membership level).
Basis. All concentration values in the BMP are expressed on a finished-product weight basis (ppm of finished product, ppb of finished product, ppt of finished product). The 1,4-dioxane (350 ppt) and PFOA/PFOS (70 ppt combined) special-case values are drawn from EPA drinking-water-concentration assessments and are applied to the cleansing product in its sold form. The default 50 ppb is also a finished-product concentration. The trace-quantity statutory definitions (0.1 % for intentionally added, 0.5 % for nonfunctional) are weight percentages of the finished product.
Implications
- The BMP document is the primary record of New York State’s recommended cleansing-product disclosure framework as it operates after the August 2020 NYS Supreme Court ruling that struck down the predecessor DEC Program Policy. It anchors the regulatory-context layer of HMI’s household-cleaning-product matrix for the US-NY jurisdiction. The underlying statute (ECL Article 35) and regulation (6 NYCRR Part 659.6) remain in force; DEC’s working guidance for compliance is this BMP document until a successor Program Policy or rule is promulgated.
- The BMP establishes the only US state-level mandatory disclosure framework specifically targeting nonfunctional contaminants (which includes heavy metals introduced via environmental media such as mineral, air, soil, water during manufacturing) in household cleansing products. The five-step threshold hierarchy (NY DOH MCL → 1,4-dioxane 350 ppt → PFOA/PFOS 70 ppt → CA Prop 65 trigger → 50 ppb default) sets the practical concentration floor at which a manufacturer must publicly disclose the presence of a heavy-metal contaminant on the manufacturer’s website, provided the heavy metal in question appears on one of the 23 Appendix B chemicals-of-concern lists. Where a NY DOH drinking-water MCL exists for a heavy metal (Pb, Cd, As, Cr, Hg are MCL-regulated under 10 NYCRR Subpart 5-1.52, with Pb additionally governed by the federal Lead and Copper Rule action-level framework), the MCL value sets the floor; the BMP does not enumerate the element-specific MCL values, deferring to the cross-referenced 10 NYCRR Subpart 5-1.52 Tables 1, 3, 3A, and 7 for the numeric values. Where no MCL exists but the metal appears on the CA Prop 65 list (Ni compounds, additional As and Cd species), the CA Prop 65 warning trigger sets the floor. Where neither an MCL nor a Prop 65 trigger applies, the 50 ppb default applies.
- The “nonfunctional contaminant” definition (Section A.2, p. 4) is the operationally important category for HMI synthesis: heavy metals introduced into a cleansing product via a naturally occurring mineral, air, soil, or water used in the manufacturing process fall squarely within this category. The BMP framework requires disclosure of these contaminants where they appear on the cross-referenced lists at or above the hierarchy-determined threshold.
- The BMP excludes personal care items (toothpaste, shampoo, hand soap), foods, drugs, cosmetics, pesticides, and industrial-process cleansing products from scope. HMI’s personal-care matrix is governed by separate state and federal frameworks; this BMP does not extend disclosure obligations to those product classes.
- The BMP does not propose HMTc-relevant threshold values for any heavy metal in any matrix. No threshold values are proposed by this source page.
Limitations
- No original measurements. The BMP is a procedural disclosure-framework document, not an experimental or surveillance study. No sample sizes, no analytical methods (other than the WCAG accessibility and the references to PQL methodology in Section A.3), no concentration values for any heavy-metal contaminant in any covered product, no detection frequencies.
- No heavy metal is named explicitly in the BMP text. Heavy-metal applicability is established indirectly through the Appendix B references to authoritative lists (CA Prop 65, IRIS, NTP, ATSDR, NY DOH MCLs, CA MCLs, WA PBTs, IARC, etc.) that themselves include heavy metals. The BMP does not enumerate which Appendix B list members are heavy metals, nor does it set heavy-metal-specific thresholds; the threshold hierarchy in Section A.3.b is element-neutral.
- Document is undated; publication year imputed. The PDF carries no explicit publication date. The 2020 year is set based on (i) past-tense reference to the August 2020 NYS Supreme Court ruling in the Purpose and Background section, and (ii) the use of EPA pre-MCL drinking-water values for 1,4-dioxane (350 ppt) and PFOA/PFOS (70 ppt combined), which is consistent with pre-July-2020 drafting (NY DOH adopted state MCLs at 1 µg/L for 1,4-dioxane and 10 ppt each for PFOA/PFOS in July/August 2020). The actual publication date may be later than the year recorded here; an HMI session needing the exact date should consult the NY DEC web posting at the access URL or the file metadata.
- Framework is recommended, not binding. The BMP is the working DEC guidance after the predecessor Program Policy was declared null and void. The underlying statute (ECL Article 35) and regulation (6 NYCRR Part 659.6) remain in force, but the specific implementation choices in this BMP document are recommendations DEC asks manufacturers to follow voluntarily, not enforceable mandates. A manufacturer non-compliant with the BMP is not, by that fact alone, in violation of state law; they may still be in violation of the underlying statute’s general disclosure obligation.
- PQL methodology unspecified. The BMP defers to “scientifically defensible, standard analytical methods” without naming methods or instruments. Operational PQLs for heavy metals in cleansing-product matrices vary by chemical and method; the sibling NY DEC TCCP program (ny-dec-tccp-2023-chem-pqls-draft) sets explicit PQLs for children’s products but those PQLs do not transfer automatically to the present cleansing-product framework.
- Cross-referenced lists evolve. The 23 Appendix B lists, the Appendix D short list, and the GHS hazard categories all change over time as the authoritative bodies revise them. The BMP requires manufacturers to update disclosures within six months of a list revision (Section C.2, p. 15). HMI sessions reading this document should re-verify the current state of any specific list cited.
- Scope is NY-state-specific. The BMP applies to products distributed, sold, or offered for sale in New York State; it does not extend to products sold only in other US jurisdictions. Other states with cleansing-product disclosure regimes (e.g., California SB 258 Cleaning Product Right to Know Act, an explicitly related framework documented in a sibling source folder) operate under their own thresholds and disclosure formats.
- English-only document. The BMP body and appendices are in English. The document encourages but does not require multi-language posting in Spanish and the other ten most common languages spoken in the United States (Section A.1, p. 2).
Provenance
- Source PDF:
raw/manual-fetch/Kimi_Agent_Download Corruption Issue/household_papers/06_Regulatory_EPA_GreenSeal/NY_State_Cleaning_Product_Disclosure_Program.pdf - SHA-256:
cea0eaf499364d9ca28c63a820be66b68d5347b4a469deeaa7fa6498669fff21 - File size: 312 KB; document body Sections A–C on pp. 1–15 plus Appendices A (pp. 16), B (pp. 17–19), C (p. 20), D (p. 21), E (p. 22). Total 22 pages.
- Publisher: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NY DEC), Division of Materials Management or successor bureau responsible for the Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program.
- Programme home page: dec.ny.gov (Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program landing page).
- Document title (header): “Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program — Recommended Best Management Practices.”
- Authorising statute: New York Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) Article 35.
- Implementing regulation: 6 NYCRR Part 659.6 (also 6 NYCRR Part 659.1 for definitions and scope).
- Predecessor document: DEC Program Policy on Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure, declared null and void by NYS Supreme Court (Household & Commercial Products Association v. Seggos, August 2020).
- Related references (per Section VI of the BMP, p. 15): Environmental Conservation Law § 35; 6 NYCRR Part 659.6.
- DOI: none assigned (state-agency guidance document).
- License: U.S. state government publication (NY-state-agency public guidance).
- Access date: 2026-06-03.
- Acquisition path: included in Kimi Agent Download Corruption Issue (KADC) folder
household_papers/06_Regulatory_EPA_GreenSeal/, alongside the EPA Safer Choice Standard and Master Criteria, three Green Seal standards (GS-37, GS-52, GS-8), four EU Ecolabel documents, the California SB 258 Right to Know summary and factsheet, the Bello et al. occupational-exposure study, the David Suzuki Foundation toxic-chemicals review, the NIOSH HHE hospital-cleaning report, and the WECF Women and Chemicals report.
Wiki pages this source may touch
- ny-dec-tccp-2023-chem-pqls-draft — sibling NY DEC program (children’s products under ECL § 37-0901) that sets explicit PQLs for heavy metals; analogous regulatory architecture, different scope, same agency. Cross-reference for PQL methodology.
- epa2024-safer-choice-standard-dfe — federal voluntary certification standard for cleaning products; complementary regulatory context for the US household-cleaning-product matrix.
- epa2024-safer-choice-master-criteria-ingredients — companion ingredient-evaluation document for the EPA Safer Choice / DfE program.
- all-purpose-cleaners — within NY BMP scope (GS1 brick 10000405 Surface Cleaners). Regulatory context.
- appliance-cleaners — within scope (GS1 bricks 10000746 Cleaners Other / 10000749 Surface Care Other). Regulatory context.
- automatic-dishwasher-detergents — within scope (GS1 brick 10000406 Dish Cleaning/Care – Automatic). Regulatory context.
- bathroom-tub-tile-cleaners — within scope (GS1 brick 10000405 Surface Cleaners). Regulatory context.
- bleaching-whitening-additives — within scope (GS1 brick 10000531 Bleach Non-FIFRA / 10000743 Detergent Boosters/Laundry Bleaches). Regulatory context.
- carpet-cleaners — within scope (GS1 brick 10000405 Surface Cleaners or 10000746 Cleaners Other). Regulatory context.
- carpet-spot-removers — within scope (GS1 brick 10000443 Stain Removers or 10000746 Cleaners Other). Regulatory context.
- cleaning-wipes-household — within scope (cleaning products containing surfactant). Regulatory context.
- degreasers — within scope (cleansing products with surfactant). Regulatory context.
- descalers — within scope (GS1 brick 10000442 Descalers). Regulatory context.
- dish-soaps-manual — within scope (GS1 brick 10000636 Dish Cleaning/Care – Hand). Regulatory context.
- drain-maintainers-cleaners — within scope (GS1 brick 10000423 Drain Treatments/Pipe Unblockers). Regulatory context.
- fabric-protectants — within scope (GS1 brick 10000741 Fabric Protectors). Regulatory context.
- fabric-softeners — within scope (GS1 brick 10000427 Laundry Color Care or 10000747 Laundry Other). Regulatory context.
- floor-cleaners-hard-surface — within scope (GS1 brick 10000405 Surface Cleaners). Regulatory context.
- floor-finishes-strippers — within scope (GS1 brick 10000405 Surface Cleaners or 10000749 Surface Care Other). Regulatory context.
- household-specialty-cleaners-other — within scope (GS1 bricks 10000746 Cleaners Other / 10000698 Cleaners Variety Pack / 10000694 Cleaning/Hygiene Products Variety Packs / 10000701 Surface Care Variety Pack). Regulatory context.
- kitchen-countertop-cleaners — within scope (GS1 brick 10000405 Surface Cleaners). Regulatory context.
- laundry-detergent-boosters-additives — within scope (GS1 brick 10000743 Detergent Boosters/Laundry Bleaches). Regulatory context.
- laundry-detergents — within scope (GS1 brick 10000424 Laundry Detergents / 10000699 Laundry Variety Packs / 10000747 Laundry Other). Regulatory context.
- laundry-prewash-products — within scope (cleansing product with surfactant for fabrics). Regulatory context.
- laundry-starch-sizing-fabric-finish — within scope (GS1 brick 10000434 Surface Care/Protection — fabric finish products). Regulatory context.
- odor-removers-hard-surfaces — within scope (GS1 brick 10000746 Cleaners Other / 10000749 Surface Care Other). Regulatory context.
- oven-grill-bbq-cleaners — within scope (GS1 brick 10000746 Cleaners Other). Regulatory context.
- pre-treaters-stain-removers — within scope (GS1 brick 10000443 Stain Removers). Regulatory context.
- rinse-aids — within scope (GS1 brick 10000445 Dish Care/Protection). Regulatory context.
- toilet-bowl-cleaners — within scope (GS1 brick 10000426 Toilet Cleaning Products). Regulatory context.
- window-glass-mirror-cleaners — within scope (GS1 brick 10000405 Surface Cleaners). Regulatory context.
- lead — captured indirectly via NY DOH MCL and Prop 65 references in Appendix B. Regulatory context (US-NY).
- cadmium — captured indirectly via NY DOH MCL and Prop 65 references. Regulatory context.
- arsenic — captured indirectly via NY DOH MCL, Prop 65, IRIS, IARC, NTP references. Regulatory context.
- mercury — captured indirectly via Prop 65, IRIS, NTP, ATSDR, WA PBTs references. Regulatory context.
- chromium-hexavalent — captured indirectly via IRIS, NTP, IARC references. Regulatory context.
- nickel — captured indirectly via CA Prop 65, IARC, NTP references for nickel compounds. Regulatory context.
Verification notes
- Identity-check results on 2026-06-03 against
wiki/sources/: DOI null (state-agency guidance document, no DOI assigned); raw_handle grep forKADC_ny-state-cleaning-product-disclosure-programreturned no matches; cite-key grep fornydec/cleansing-product-disclosurereturned no matches in the cleansing-product domain (ny-dec-tccp-2023-chem-pqls-draft.mdis the sibling NY DEC document but is a distinct programme — children’s products under ECL § 37-0901, not cleansing products under ECL Article 35). Ingested as NEW. - SHA-256 of the source PDF computed from disk on 2026-06-03 (
cea0eaf499364d9ca28c63a820be66b68d5347b4a469deeaa7fa6498669fff21). - The document has no DOI (state-agency guidance, not a journal article).
doiis null. - Year set to 2020 as best estimate. The PDF carries no explicit publication date. Rationale: (i) Purpose and Background references the NYS Supreme Court ruling (August 2020) in the past tense; (ii) document uses EPA pre-MCL drinking-water values for 1,4-dioxane (350 ppt) and PFOA/PFOS combined (70 ppt), consistent with pre-July/August 2020 drafting before NY DOH adopted stricter state MCLs of 1 µg/L for 1,4-dioxane and 10 ppt each for PFOA/PFOS. Actual publication date may be later if DEC retained the EPA values intentionally; the year recorded here is conservative-early. Documented in body Limitations and in frontmatter
year_note. - Evidence tier set to B on the basis of: (i) authoritative state-agency primary record from NY DEC, the agency administering the Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program; (ii) document is the primary source of its own BMP content; BUT (iii) the BMPs are explicitly recommended rather than binding because the predecessor binding Program Policy was struck down by the NYS Supreme Court in August 2020 and a successor binding Policy or rule has not yet been promulgated; (iv) document is undated, which weakens the temporal anchor compared to peer A-tier documents like ny-dec-tccp-2023-chem-pqls-draft (explicitly dated stakeholder draft) and epa2024-safer-choice-standard-dfe (explicitly dated and versioned federal program standard). The B tier reflects the recommended-not-binding posture and the date-uncertain posture; the underlying statute (ECL Article 35) and regulation (6 NYCRR Part 659.6) remain authoritative and binding.
- License set to “U.S. state government publication (NY state-agency public guidance document)” — NY state agency works are not subject to a single uniform state-government copyright exemption analogous to 17 USC § 105 for federal works, but DEC posts this document for public download on dec.ny.gov as official programme guidance and HMI treats it as redistributable in that capacity.
- Source type set to
gov-guidancerather thangov-regulationbecause the document itself is recommended Best Management Practices, not a binding regulatory text. The underlying binding instruments are ECL Article 35 (statute) and 6 NYCRR Part 659.6 (regulation), which the BMP supports but does not constitute. metals: [Pb, Cd, tAs, tHg, Cr-VI, Ni]is set on the basis that these six heavy metals are explicitly captured by the Section A.3.b threshold hierarchy via membership on one or more of the 23 Appendix B chemicals-of-concern lists (Pb on NY DOH MCLs, CA Prop 65, IRIS Neurotoxicants, ATSDR Neurotoxicants, WA PBTs, US EPA Priority Chemicals, GLWQA, US EPA PBTs; Cd on NY DOH MCLs, CA Prop 65, IARC, IRIS Carcinogens, NTP Carcinogens, ATSDR Neurotoxicants, WA PBTs, US EPA Priority Chemicals, GLWQA; tAs on NY DOH MCLs, CA Prop 65, IARC, IRIS Carcinogens, NTP Carcinogens, ATSDR Neurotoxicants; tHg on Prop 65, IRIS, NTP, ATSDR, US EPA Priority Chemicals, WA PBTs, GLWQA, Marine Priority Action Chemicals; Cr-VI on IRIS Carcinogens, NTP Carcinogens, IARC, NY Air Toxics; Ni compounds on CA Prop 65, IARC, NTP, AOEC Asthmagens, EU Respiratory Sensitizers). The BMP does not name any heavy metal explicitly in its body text; the metals: array reflects indirect capture via the cross-referenced lists. tAs and tHg are used (not iAs and MeHg) because the cross-referenced lists treat arsenic and mercury at the total-element membership level. Cr-VI is used (not Cr) because Cr is captured specifically as hexavalent chromium on IRIS, NTP, and IARC carcinogen lists.ingredients: []is intentional: the document is a generic disclosure-framework text covering all cleansing-product ingredients, not specific to any one ingredient.products: [...]lists every household-cleaning-product taxonomy slug currently inwiki/products/that maps to one of the 24 GS1 GPC brick codes covered by Appendix A of the BMP, scoped to the product types meeting the “soap or detergent containing a surfactant” definition. Routing fan-out isregulatory_contextrather thandirect_evidencebecause no contamination values are reported.matrices: [household-cleaning-product]matches the matrix already in use on epa2024-safer-choice-master-criteria-ingredients, epa2024-safer-choice-standard-dfe, davidsuzuki2014-toxic-household-cleaners, and the four Green Seal standards in the corpus.jurisdictions: [US-NY]because the document is a NY-state-agency document applying to products distributed, sold, or offered for sale in NY State. (The federal-level US jurisdiction is not asserted because the document applies only within NY State boundaries.)- Wiki/HMTc firewall (Part 2): the document is upstream of any HMTc threshold-setting work; no Part 2 drift risk in the body of this page. The Implications section does not propose HMTc threshold values and explicitly states none are proposed.
- Brand firewall (Part 12): the document does not name any commercial brand of cleansing product. The body references “Google” and “Bing” as examples of search engines (Section A.1, p. 2) and references entity types (“manufacturer,” “distributor”) generically; no brand attribution to contamination values appears anywhere in the source. No brand-firewall action required.
- Quantitative content in this page (tables for Section A.3 threshold hierarchy; A.3 trace-quantity statutory definitions; Appendix E consolidated disclosure-levels table; Section A.1 fragrance grouping ranges; Section B.2/B.3 ingredient and fragrance disclosure-level hierarchies; Section C.1 phased-in effective-date schedule; Appendix A GS1 brick code list; Appendix B chemicals-of-concern list summary; Appendix C GHS hazard characteristics; Section A.2 statutory-definition crosswalk) is reproduced exactly from the source PDF with page locators throughout.
- No new ingredient pages and no new product pages were created during this ingest, per CLAUDE.md Part 10 and the skill’s hard constraints. The product list in frontmatter draws only on existing
wiki/products/slugs. - No new regulation page was created. If a
regulations/ny-ecl-article-35.mdorregulations/6-nycrr-part-659-6.mdpage is ever needed (Step 0 Lock decision), this BMP document would be the principal current-implementation-guidance source page, with the underlying ECL Article 35 and 6 NYCRR Part 659 / 659.1 / 659.6 regulatory texts as the binding statutory and rule citations. - Frontmatter
year_notefield added to record the date-imputation rationale and to make it explicit that the year is a best estimate rather than a verified publication date. This field is informational; the canonical year is2020. - Audit subagent (2026-06-03, v2 skill general-purpose audit) returned REVISE verdict with four ⚠️ findings, all verified correct and applied: (1) trace-quantity definitions section heading tightened from “(pp. 5–6)” to “(p. 6)” — both intentionally-added and nonfunctional trace definitions live on p. 6 only; (2) fragrance grouping ranges section heading corrected from “Section A.1” to “Section A.3” — the paragraph appears on p. 5 but under Confidential Business Information and Extent of Disclosure (Section A.3), not Posting Parameters (Section A.1 at pp. 1–2); (3) disclosure-level hierarchies section heading corrected from “Section B.2 / B.3 (pp. 8–10)” to “Section B.3 (pp. 9–10)” — Section B.2 covers Product Information HTML structure at pp. 8–9 and B.3 alone covers Extent of Disclosure hierarchies at pp. 9–10, with a parenthetical added to clarify the B.2/B.3 split; (4) Implications bullet on heavy-metal disclosure floors softened: removed the unsourced “15 µg/L = 15 ppb” Pb action-level figure (the BMP does not state Pb-specific or any element-specific MCL value, deferring to the cross-referenced 10 NYCRR Subpart 5-1.52 Tables) and replaced with floor-by-mechanism-not-by-number wording that attributes element-specific numeric values to the source document (Subpart 5-1.52) the BMP cites, rather than asserting them as claims of the BMP itself. Checks 2 (slug vocabulary), 3 (speciation/methods), 4 (Part 12 brand firewall) all returned ✅ clean; Check 5 (Part 2 wiki/HMTc firewall) had one ⚠️ (the same Pb-floor finding as Check 1’s #4), now resolved. 0 findings rejected as false positives.
Page history
The five most recent substantive edits to this page. The full version history lives in git; when DOI minting comes online (see schema docs), each entry below will also link to a version-pinned DataCite DOI.
| Commit | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 3ac7720 | 2026-06-03 | triage sweep 2026-06-03 0550: 0 rollups + 4 skips |