CaliforniaProposition65WarningInformation
Whatisthiswarning?
Youmayseeaproductforsalethathasawarninglabellikethefollowing:
WARNING:CancerandReproductiveHarm—www.p65Warnings.ca.gov.
WhatisProp65?
Prop65appliestoanycompanyoperatinginCalifornia,sellingproductsinCalifornia,ormanufacturingproductsthatmaybesoldinorbroughtinto
California.ItmandatesthattheGovernorofCaliforniamaintainandpublishalistofchemicalsknowntocausecancer,birthdefects,and/orother
reproductiveharm.Thelist,whichisupdatedannually,includeshundredsofchemicalsfoundinmanyeverydayitems.ThepurposeofProp65isto
informthepublicaboutexposuretothesechemicals.
Prop65doesnotbanthesaleofproductscontainingthesechemicalsbutinsteadrequireswarningsonanyproduct,productpackaging,orliteraturewith
theproduct.Moreover,aProp65warningdoesnotmeanthataproductisinviolationofanyproductsafetystandardsorrequirements.Infact,the
CaliforniagovernmenthasclariedthataProp65warning“isnotthesameasaregulatorydecisionthataproductis‘safe’or‘unsafe.’”Manyofthese
chemicalshavebeenusedineverydayproductsforyearswithoutdocumentedharm.Formoreinformation,gotohttps://oag.ca.gov/prop65/faqs-view-all
.
AProp65warningmeansthatacompanyhaseither(1)evaluatedtheexposureandhasconcludedthatitexceedsthe“nosignicantrisklevel”;or(2)
haschosentoprovideawarningbasedonitsunderstandingaboutthepresenceofalistedchemicalwithoutattemptingtoevaluatetheexposure.
Doesthislawapplyeverywhere?
Prop65warningsarerequiredunderCalifornialawonly.ThesewarningsareseenthroughoutCaliforniainawiderangeofsettings,includingbutnot
limitedtorestaurants,grocerystores,hotels,schools,andhospitals,andonawidevarietyofproducts.Additionally,someonlineandmailorder
retailersprovideProp65warningsontheirwebsitesorincatalogs.
HowdotheCaliforniawarningscomparetofederallimits?
Prop65standardsareoftenmorestringentthanfederalandinternationalstandards.TherearevarioussubstancesthatrequireaProp65warning
atlevelsthatarefarlowerthanfederalactionlimits.Forexample,theProp65standardforwarningsforleadis0.5μg/day,whichiswellbelow
thefederalandinternationalstandards.
Whydon’tallsimilarproductscarrythewarning?
•ProductssoldinCaliforniarequireProp65labellingwhilesimilarproductssoldelsewheredonot.
•AcompanyinvolvedinaProp65lawsuitreachingasettlementmayberequiredtouseProp65warningsforitsproducts,butothercompanies
makingsimilarproductsmayhavenosuchrequirement.
•TheenforcementofProp65isinconsistent.
•CompaniesmayelectnottoprovidewarningsbecausetheyconcludethattheyarenotrequiredtodosounderProp65;alackofwarningsfora
productdoesnotmeanthattheproductisfreeoflistedchemicalsatsimilarlevels.
Whydoesthemanufacturerincludethiswarning?
themanufacturerhaschosentoprovideconsumerswithasmuchinformationaspossiblesothattheycanmakeinformeddecisionsabouttheproducts
theybuyanduse.themanufacturerprovideswarningsincertaincasesbasedonitsknowledgeofthepresenceofoneormorelistedchemicalswithout
evaluatingthelevelofexposure,asnotallthelistedchemicalsprovideexposurelimitrequirements.Whiletheexposurefromthemanufacturerproducts
maybenegligibleorwellwithinthe“nosignicantrisk”range,outofanabundanceofcaution,themanufacturerhaselectedtoprovidetheProp65
warnings.Moreover,ifthemanufacturerdoesnotprovidethesewarnings,itcouldbesuedbytheStateofCaliforniaorbyprivatepartiesseekingto
enforceProp65andsubjecttosubstantialpenalties.
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