LOS ANGELES (AP) — California environmental officials plan to reconvene a task force early next year to further examine issues associated with regulating toxic chemicals in consumer products.

In a letter Thursday, Linda Adams, who heads the state Environmental Protection Agency, said the Department of Toxic Substances Control will take additional time to look at issues such as a chemical priority list before implementing the regulations, which were supposed to go into effect in January.

Over the past two years, the department has already revised the rules to address criticism as companies threaten to sue if forced to share their products’ chemical makeup.

The regulations seek to require manufacturers to develop safer alternatives to harmful chemicals in products.

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