U.S. – February 2023 California Proposition 65 – 60-Day Notices Analysis

Vol. 1343 | 14 Mar 2023

The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, commonly referred to as Proposition 65 (Prop 65), is enforced by the California Attorney General’s office or any district attorney or certain city attorneys or by any individual acting in the public interest. Prop 65 requires that an individual acting in the public interest, to enforce the Act give notice of the impending action to the person alleged to be committing the violation, along with the Attorney General, district attorneys and certain city attorneys in which the violation is alleged to have occurred. The notice must be sent to these parties no less than 60 days before commencing the action; thus, this notice is commonly referred to as the “60-day Notice of Violation”.

In February 2023, there were 291 60-day notices for violation of Prop 65. The majority of the notices were for Lead (50.9%). Other Chemicals had 25.8% of the notices, 23% of notices were for the presence of Phthalates and 0.3% was for the presence of lead and phthalates.

Of the reported notices, bags and cases had 18 notices for the presence of phthalates. Externally decorated glass and ceramics had 23 notices for lead and 2 notices for the presence of phthalates; Footwear had 2 notices for the presence of phthalates. Device accessories had one notice for the presence of Phthalates present in armband phone holders. Pet products such as dog leashes, dog bed, pet washer hose and pet toy stockings had 4 notices for the presence of Phthalates. There were 10 notices issued for the presence of Phthalates in the category of packaging.

Noticeably, padded armrests and other vinyl upholstered components used for wheelchairs and walking canes, as well as rollators with accessible vinyl components had one notice for the presence of Lead and Phthalates (DEHP).

In the kitchen and dining category, 1 notice was served for Bisphenol A (BPA), in chocolate molds. The beauty and personal care category had 32 notices for the presence of other chemicals such as Titanium Dioxide and Diethanolamine. Hexavalent Chromium (Chromium (VI)) was present in 4 leather gloves with various end uses (i.e., used as PPE, in sports and in the kitchen).

For local and worldwide companies manufacturing and/or operating in the state of California, Intertek’s Prop 65 compliance services provide the expert support and laboratory testing qualifications needed to comply with regulations and mitigate complexities.

For questions, please contact Harini Ramaswamy (harini.ramaswamy@intertek.com, +1 847-871-1047).