VillageKitchen.com has received documentation
from all our manufacturers that their merchandise passes California
Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act
of 1986 with the exception of items specifically described as containing lead. This is currently the most rigorous exposure standard for LEAD
and other TOXIC CHEMICALS. In 2006 the European Union is scheduled
to issue similar standards and we will verify that our merchandise passes
their tests.
Proposition 65 in Plain
Language!
What Is Proposition 65?
In 1986, California voters approved an
initiative to address their growing concerns about exposure to toxic
chemicals. That initiative became the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic
Enforcement Act of 1986, better known by its original name of Proposition
65. Proposition 65 requires the State to publish a list of chemicals
known to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm. This
list, which must be updated at least once a year, has grown to include
approximately 750 chemicals since it was first published in 1987.
Proposition 65 requires businesses to
notify Californians about significant amounts of chemicals in the products
they purchase, in their homes or workplaces, or that are released into
the environment. By providing this information, Proposition 65 enables
Californians to make informed decisions about protecting themselves
from exposure to these chemicals. Proposition 65 also prohibits California
businesses from knowingly discharging significant amounts of listed
chemicals into sources of drinking water.
The Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment (OEHHA) administers the Proposition 65 program. OEHHA, which
is part of the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA),
also evaluates all currently available scientific information on substances
considered for placement on the Proposition 65 list.
What types of chemicals are on
the Proposition 65 list?
The list contains a wide range of naturally occurring and synthetic
chemicals that are known to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive
harm. These chemicals include additives or ingredients in pesticides,
common household products, food, drugs, dyes, or solvents. Listed chemicals
may also be used in manufacturing and construction, or they may be byproducts
of chemical processes, such as motor vehicle exhaust.
How is a chemical added to the
list?
There are three principal ways for a chemical to be added to the Proposition
65 list. A chemical can be listed if either of two independent committees
of scientists and health professionals finds that the chemical has been
clearly shown to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive
harm. These two committees-the Carcinogen Identification Committee (CIC)
and the Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant (DART) Identification
Committee-are part of OEHHA's Science Advisory Board. The committee
members are appointed by the Governor and are designated as the "State's
Qualified Experts" for evaluating chemicals under Proposition 65.
When determining whether a chemical should be placed on the list, the
committees base their decisions on the most current scientific information
available. OEHHA staff scientists compile all relevant scientific evidence
on various chemicals for the committees to review. The committees also
consider comments from the public before making their decisions.
A second way for a chemical to be listed
is if an organization designated as an "authoritative body"
by the CIC or DART Identification Committee has identified it as causing
cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm. The following organizations
have been designated as authoritative bodies: the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA), National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Toxicology Program,
and International Agency for Research on Cancer.
A third way for a chemical to be listed
is if an agency of the state or federal government requires that it
be labeled or identified as causing cancer or birth defects or other
reproductive harm. Most chemicals listed in this manner are prescription
drugs that are required by the U.S. FDA to contain warnings relating
to cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm.
In addition to these three listing procedures,
Proposition 65 also requires the listing of chemicals meeting certain
scientific criteria and identified in the California Labor Code as causing
cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm. This method was
used to establish the initial chemical list following voter approval
of Proposition 65 in 1986.
What requirements does Proposition 65
place on companies doing business in California?
Businesses are required to provide a "clear and reasonable"
warning before knowingly and intentionally exposing anyone to a listed
chemical. This warning can be given by a variety of means, such as by
labeling a consumer product, posting signs at the workplace, distributing
notices at a rental housing complex, or publishing notices in a newspaper.
Once a chemical is listed, businesses have 12 months to comply with
warning requirements.
Proposition 65 also prohibits companies
that do business within California from knowingly discharging listed
chemicals into sources of drinking water. Once a chemical is listed,
businesses have 20 months to comply with the discharge prohibition.
Businesses with less than 10 employees
and government agencies are exempt from Proposition 65's warning requirements
and prohibition on discharges into drinking water sources. Businesses
are also exempt from the warning requirement and discharge prohibition
if the exposures they cause are so low as to create no significant risk
of cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm. Health risks
are explained in more detail below.
What does a warning mean?
If a warning is placed on a product label or posted or distributed at
the workplace, a business, or in rental housing, the business issuing
the warning is aware or believes that one or more listed chemicals is
present. By law, a warning must be given for listed chemicals unless
exposure is low enough to pose no significant risk of cancer or is significantly
below levels observed to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.
For a chemical that causes cancer, the
"no significant risk level" is defined as the level of exposure
that would result in not more than one excess case of cancer in 100,000
individuals exposed to the chemical over a 70-year lifetime. In other
words, a person exposed to the chemical at the "no significant
risk level" for 70 years would not have more than a "one in
100,000" chance of developing cancer as a result of that exposure.
For chemicals that are listed as causing
birth defects or reproductive harm, the "no observable effect level"
is determined by identifying the level of exposure that has been shown
to not pose any harm to humans or laboratory animals. Proposition 65
then requires this "no observable effect level" to be divided
by 1,000 in order to provide an ample margin of safety. Businesses subject
to Proposition 65 are required to provide a warning if they cause exposures
to chemicals listed as causing birth defects or reproductive harm that
exceed 1/1000th of the "no observable effect level."
To further assist businesses, OEHHA develops
numerical guidance levels, known as "safe harbor numbers"
(described below) for determining whether a warning is necessary or
whether discharges of a chemical into drinking water sources are prohibited.
However, a business may choose to provide a warning simply based on
its knowledge, or assumption, about the presence of a listed chemical
without attempting to evaluate the levels of exposure. Because businesses
do not file reports with OEHHA regarding what warnings they have issued
and why, OEHHA is not able to provide further information about any
particular warning. The business issuing the warning should be contacted
for specific information, such as what chemicals are present, and at
what levels, as well as how exposure to them may occur.
What are safe harbor numbers?
As stated above, to guide businesses in determining whether a warning
is necessary or whether discharges of a chemical into drinking water
sources are prohibited, OEHHA has developed safe harbor numbers. A business
has "safe harbor" from Proposition 65 warning requirements
or discharge prohibitions if exposure to a chemical occurs at or below
these levels. These safe harbor numbers consist of no significant risk
levels for chemicals listed as causing cancer and maximum allowable
dose levels for chemicals listed as causing birth defects or other reproductive
harm. OEHHA has established safe harbor numbers for nearly 250 chemicals
to date and continues to develop safe harbor numbers for listed chemicals.
Who enforces Proposition 65?
The California Attorney General's Office enforces Proposition 65. Any
district attorney or city attorney (for cities whose population exceeds
750,000) may also enforce Proposition 65. In addition, any individual
acting in the public interest may enforce Proposition 65 by filing a
lawsuit against a business alleged to be in violation of this law. Lawsuits
have been filed by the Attorney General's Office, district attorneys,
consumer advocacy groups, and private citizens and law firms. Penalties
for violating Proposition 65 by failing to provide notices can be as
high as $2,500 per violation per day.
How is Proposition 65 meeting its goal
of reducing exposure to hazardous chemicals in California?
Since it was passed in 1986, Proposition 65 has provided Californians
with information they can use to reduce their exposures to listed chemicals
that may not have been adequately controlled under other State or federal
laws. This law has also increased public awareness about the adverse
effects of exposures to listed chemicals. For example, Proposition 65
has resulted in greater awareness of the dangers of alcoholic beverage
consumption during pregnancy. Alcohol consumption warnings are perhaps
the most visible health warnings issued as a result of Proposition 65.
Proposition 65's warning requirement has
provided an incentive for manufacturers to remove listed chemicals from
their products. For example, trichloroethylene, which causes cancer,
is no longer used in most correction fluids; reformulated paint strippers
do not contain the carcinogen methylene chloride; and toluene, which
causes birth defects or other reproductive harm, has been removed from
many nail care products. In addition, a Proposition 65 enforcement action
prompted manufacturers to decrease the lead content in ceramic tableware
and wineries to eliminate the use of lead-containing foil caps on wine
bottles.
Proposition 65 has also succeeded in spurring
significant reductions in California of air emissions of listed chemicals,
such as ethylene oxide, hexavalent chromium, and chloroform.
Although Proposition 65 has benefited
Californians, it has come at a cost for companies doing business in
the state. They have incurred expenses to test products, develop alternatives
to listed chemicals, reduce discharges, provide warnings, and otherwise
comply with this law. Recognizing that compliance with Proposition 65
comes at a price, OEHHA is working to make the law's regulatory requirements
as clear as possible and ensure that chemicals are listed in accordance
with rigorous science in an open public process.
Where can I get more information
on Proposition 65?
For general information on the Proposition 65 list of chemicals, you
may contact OEHHA's Proposition 65 program at (916) 445-6900, or visit
http://www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65.html. For enforcement information, contact
the California Attorney General's Office at (510) 622-2160, or visit
http://caag.state.ca.us/prop65/index.htm.
Follow this link to download a pdf copy of this document
Updated: February 2003
Portions copied from the State of California Web
site.
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