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

Vol. 1362 | 20 Jun 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 May 2023, there were 371 60-day notices for violation of Prop 65. The majority of the notices were for Lead (56%). 23% of notices were for the presence of Phthalates, 21% of the notices were for Other chemicals.

Among the reported notices, bags and cases had 26 notices for the presence of Phthalates. Externally decorated glass and ceramics had 34 notices for Lead, 1 notice for the presence of Phthalates and 1 notice for the presence of Cadmium. Footwear had 6 notices for the presence of Phthalates. Pet products had 3 notices for the presence of Phthalates. There were 14 notices issued for the presence of Phthalates in the category of packaging. 

Noticeably, 4 notices were issued for the presence of Bisphenol A (BPA) in sports bras, athletic shirts, athletic shorts and leggings primarily made of Polyester and containing spandex or other brands of elastane. There were 3 notices issued for the presence of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) in various categories of items such as jackets, joggers, trek pants, blankets, shower curtains and liners, kids’ lunch bags and hardware.

The beauty and personal care category had 18 notices for the presence of other chemicals such as Bisphenol A, Mercury and mercury compounds, Titanium Dioxide and Diethanolamine. There were 3 notices issued for Hexavalent Chromium (Chromium (VI)), present in leather gloves with various end uses (i.e., used as Personal Protective Equipment, Apparel as well as in Sports & Outdoor categories).

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.

If you have any questions, please contact our technical experts Harini Ramaswamy (harini.ramaswamy@intertek.com) and Andrew Loveland (andrew.loveland@intertek.com).