SGIA Journal Graphic November/December 2016 - 7

caseKnow
study
First to
Proposition 65 Amendments
Approved in August 2016
On August 30, 2016, amendments to the Proposition 65 regulations in
California were approved, marking the first change in the rule in over
30 years. The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986,
Allison Lundy,
Regulatory Assistant,
SGIA

also known as Proposition 65 or Prop. 65, was passed in the state
of California with the goal of reducing chemical exposure that may
cause cancer or reproductive defects. Over the past year,
several proposals have been introduced in an effort to
overhaul the regulation.
In August 2016, after several drafts public comment

Prop 65 was passed in
the state of California
with the goal of reducing
chemical exposure that
may cause cancer or
reproductive defects.

periods, the final rule was approved. There will be
a two-year grace period, and the new regulations
will go into effect on August 30, 2018.
Under Proposition 65, the state of California
must maintain and update an inventory of
chemicals known to produce harmful effects due
to exposure. The current list includes over 800
chemicals. Furthermore, the law requires businesses in California to provide warnings if their
products or facilities contain any chemical that is
listed on said inventory at a level that would be harmful to exposed consumers. This exposure can be either
through purchasing a product containing a harmful
chemical, or through such chemicals being released into
the atmosphere.
These warnings can be in the form of a label on a consumer product, a sign in the facility, or publishing or distributing notices. To avoid penalties, businesses should consider
placing a label on the product to give the most effective warning.
For new chemicals, the warning requirement takes effect one year
after it is added to the Prop. 65 list.
There are a few exceptions to the labelling requirements.
Businesses with less than 10 employees do not need to follow the
warning regulations. Businesses are also exempt if the exposures of
chemicals are so low that they do not present any significant level of
risk. These "safe harbor" levels of exposure allow businesses to use
certain chemicals on the Prop. 65 inventory without providing a warning. Chemical exposure levels that are used at a "no significant risk"
level are defined by the law as exposure that causes a one in 100,000
chance of cancer over a 70-year lifetime.
If exposure to a chemical that may cause cancer or reproductive
harm is above "safe harbor" levels, then a warning to consumers
is needed. To help businesses avoid litigation or penalties, Prop. 65
has developed language to be used on warning labels. Although
businesses have discretion on what language they wish to use on
their warnings, this selected language ensures that the warning is

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SGIA Journal Graphic November/December 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SGIA Journal Graphic November/December 2016