California Delivers Some News

15 Dec 2025

See the spray foam industry's response to the new DTSC news coming out of California.

The spray foam industry was recently issued some important news from the most populous state in the U.S., which is a big market for spray foam. In early October, California’s Department of Toxic Substances and Control, known as DTSC, issued its Notice of Final Determination: Regulatory Responses for Spray Polyurethane Foam Systems Containing Unreacted Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate. This notice follows more than a decade of back-and-forth discussions between the state’s Environmental Protection Agency and our industry. It outlines specific mandates, or rules, for a select group of SPF manufacturers doing business within the state. Huntsman Building Solutions is one of the manufacturers included.

The mandates instruct the manufacturers to:

Enhance Labeling: This requires safety and PPE guidance information be placed on the exterior of SPF system drums, with further information on the product websites. This must be implemented within 18 months of the October notice.

Restrict Sales of the Product: This requirement mandates that spray foam can only be applied by installers who have completed adequate health and safety training. Manufacturers must, in their sales agreements, require distributors and contractors doing business in California to attest they require their applicators to complete the CPI Spray Polyurethane Foam Health and Safety Training, or a similar program. The implementation timeline for this rule is 12 months from the notice date.

Fund Green Chemistry: Manufacturers must pay a $0.02 per pound sold fee to fund green chemistry research into a possible alternative to MDI or an engineering solution that reduces potential exposure to MDI. The fee is adjustable to ensure DTSC can hit its revenue target of ~$4,000,000. DTSC is collecting the fee retroactively, beginning July 1, 2025, and the first payment is due January 1, 2026. 

How we got here with California

In early 2014, California’s DTSC identified and targeted Spray Polyurethane Foam products containing unreacted methylene diphenyl diisocyanates (MDI) and gave them an initial Priority Product listing under the department’s controversial Safer Consumer Products Program. This notably occurred without any consultation with industry leaders for fact gathering and collaboration. (Notably, MDI in SPF had already been reviewed thoroughly by federal agencies that address worker and public health including OSHA, NIOSH and EPA.) This led to inaccurate information about the product being published and kicked off a multi-year process during which the industry tried to educate the DTSC about both the product’s safety, its unparalleled performance, and its critical role in helping the state meet its aggressive sustainability goals. The DTSC’s Safer Consumer Products Program is designed to identify alternative products offering similar benefits and unsurprisingly, over the past many years, no replacements for the performance of MDI in SPF have been identified. 

The Industry’s Response to the Latest Notice

The October DTSC Notice to SPF manufacturers must be adhered to, however it is being disputed. The Spray Foam Coalition as a representative to industry manufacturers, provided a response to the State of California which outlines the aspects of the Notice the industry is disputing. In a nutshell, these include:

• The DTSC has failed to comply with the California Administrative Procedure Act in issuing the Final Determination.
• The Final Determination violates the equal protection clauses of both the U.S. Constitution and California Constitution.
• The fee assessed by the Final Determination constitutes a tax requiring enactment by a 2/3 vote by the California Assembly and a 2/3 vote of the California Senate.
• The Final Determination includes warnings about suspected carcinogenicity that are unwarranted and violate the free speech rights of the subject businesses.
• References to specific versions of the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) will create confusion and inconsistency.
• PPE requirements for low-pressure foam are unwarranted.

Manufacturers, and the distributors and contractors they serve in California, will need to wait for the DTSC’s answer on the identified areas of dispute. In the interim, Huntsman Building Solutions will be compliant with all California requirements. Enhanced labeling will appear on all our SPF drums, regardless of whether they are being sold in California. We will continue, as we always have, to require applicators of our spray foam have completed an approved Health and Safety course. Additionally, we will charge the $0.02 per pound sold fee to meet the green chemistry funding mandated. However, we will hold the money from the extra charge in an escrow account and, if applicable, will return it to contractors who paid into it later if the fee-related dispute with DTSC is resolved.

The Bottom Line

California homeowners and builders can and should continue to rely on spray foam products. Spray foam insulation and sealants play a valuable and essential role to help California achieve the energy efficiency and climate change goals mandated by AB 32, California’s landmark climate change legislation. Not only that, but the products provide energy savings at a time when energy prices are skyrocketing, they improve indoor comfort, and they simply perform much better than the alternative materials on the market. 

 

Doug Brady
President
Huntsman Building Solutions