California Proposition 65 W arning Information
What is this warning?
Y ou ma y see a product for sale that has a w ar ning label lik e the follo wing:
W ARNING: Cancer and R e producti v e Har m—www .p65W ar nings .ca.g o v .
What is Prop 65?
Prop 65 applies to any company operating in Califor nia, selling products in Califor nia, or man ufacturing products that ma y be sold in or brought into Califor nia. It mandates
that the Go v er nor of Califor nia maintain and publish a list of c hemicals kno wn to cause cancer , bir th defects , and/or other re producti v e har m. T he list, whic h is updated
ann ually , includes hundreds of c hemicals found in many ev er y da y items . T he pur pose of Prop 65 is to infor m the public about exposure to these c hemicals .
Prop 65 does not ban the sale of products containing these c hemicals but instead requires w ar nings on any product, product pac kaging, or literature with the product.
Moreo v er , a Prop 65 w ar ning does not mean that a product is in violation of any product safety standards or requirements . In fact, the Califor nia g o v er nment has claried that
a Prop 65 w ar ning “is not the same as a regulator y decision that a product is ‘safe’ or ‘unsafe . ’” Many of these c hemicals ha v e been used in ev er y da y products for years without
documented har m. F or more infor mation, g o to https://oag .ca.g o v/prop65/faqs-view-all .
A Prop 65 w ar ning means that a company has either (1) ev aluated the exposure and has concluded that it ex ceeds the “no signicant risk lev el”; or (2) has c hosen to pro vide a
w ar ning based on its understanding about the presence of a listed c hemical without attempting to ev aluate the exposure .
Does this law apply everywhere?
Prop 65 w ar nings are required under Califor nia la w only . T hese w ar nings are seen throughout Califor nia in a wide rang e of settings , including but not limited to restaurants ,
g rocer y stores , hotels , sc hools , and hospitals , and on a wide v ariety of products . Additionally , some online and mail order retailers pro vide Prop 65 w ar nings on their
w ebsites or in catalogs .
How do the California warnings compare to federal limits?
Prop 65 standards are often more string ent than federal and inter national standards . T here are v arious substances that require a Prop 65 w ar ning at lev els that are far lo w er than
federal action limits . F or example , the Prop 65 standard for w ar nings for lead is 0.5 μg/da y , whic h is w ell belo w the federal and inter national standards .
Why don’t all similar products carry the warning?
• Products sold in Califor nia require Prop 65 labelling while similar products sold elsewhere do not.
• A company in v olv ed in a Prop 65 la wsuit reac hing a settlement ma y be required to use Prop 65 w ar nings for its products , but other companies making similar
products ma y ha v e no suc h requirement.
• T he enforcement of Prop 65 is inconsistent.
• Companies ma y elect not to pro vide w ar nings because they conclude that they are not required to do so under Prop 65; a lac k of w ar nings for a product does not mean
that the product is free of listed c hemicals at similar lev els .
Why does Exmark include this warning?
Exmark has c hosen to pro vide consumers with as m uc h infor mation as possible so that they can mak e infor med decisions about the products they buy and use . Exmark
pro vides w ar nings in cer tain cases based on its kno wledg e of the presence of one or more listed c hemicals without ev aluating the lev el of exposure , as not all the listed
c hemicals pro vide exposure limit requirements . W hile the exposure from Exmark products ma y be negligible or w ell within the “no signicant risk” rang e , out of an abundance
of caution, Exmark has elected to pro vide the Prop 65 w ar nings . Moreo v er , if Exmark does not pro vide these w ar nings , it could be sued b y the State of Califor nia or b y
pri v ate par ties seeking to enforce Prop 65 and subject to substantial penalties .
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