U.S. – July 2024 California Proposition 65 – 60-Day Notices Analysis

Vol. 1425 | 14 Oct 2024

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 July 2024, there were 328 60-day notices for violation of Prop 65, of which 34% of the notices served were for the category of Lead, 14% of notices were served for the presence of Phthalates, 52% of the notices were for the presence of Other chemicals.

Among the reported notices, bags and cases had 22 notices for the presence of Phthalates. Externally decorated glass and ceramics had 25 notices for the presence of Lead, and 1 notice for the presence of Phthalates in ceramic piggy banks with PVC components. There were 5 notices for the presence of lead in jewelry. The category of candles and accessories had a total of 6 notices, for the presence of lead.

Noticeably, there was 1 notice issued for the presence of phthalates of pet products, and 2 notices for the presence of phthalates in car accessories.

The beauty and personal care category had 189 notices for the presence of other chemicals such as Titanium Dioxide and Diethanolamine.

There was 1 notice issued for the presence of Hexavalent Chromium in gloves used in the category of sports and recreation.

There were 2 notices issued for the presence of Bisphenol A (BPA) in footwear, home storage and organization.

There were 19 notices served for the presence of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) in several items such as dietary supplements, pillows and cushions, apparel, umbrellas, bathroom accessories, hardware, home storage and organization. There were 2 notices issued for the presence of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) in wall t-shirts and sun hats. Further, there were 5 notices issued for the presence of Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and its salts, Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) in bathroom accessories and tablecloths.

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. Simply contact us.

For questions, please contact Harini Ramaswamy (harini.ramaswamy@intertek.com) and Andrew Loveland (andrew.loveland@intertek.com).