Monthly Archives: July 2019

OEHHA Finalizes Proposition 65 Warning Exemption for Coffee

By Grimaldi Law Offices Associate Jennifer Singh On June 3, 2019, the California Office of Administrative Law approved a regulation adopted by the California Office of Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) exempting currently listed carcinogens created by roasting and brewing coffee from Proposition 65’s warning requirements. Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations, section 25704, states that “[e]xposures to chemicals in coffee, listed on or before March 15, 2019 as known to the state to cause cancer, that are created by and inherent in the processes of roasting coffee beans or brewing coffee do not pose a significant risk of…

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Studies Find that Thousands of Cancer Cases May Be Linked to California Tap Water

A new study claims to have revealed a link between cancer and drinking water in California. According to the study, drinking water from California taps may increase cancer cases by more than 15,000 throughout the state over the course of a lifetime. The study focused on the combined effects of multiple pollutants in drinking water rather than analyzing just one contaminant. The data in the study conducted by scientists from the Environmental Working Group included 2700 California community water systems from 2011 to 2015. The study found that over the course of 70 years, 221 annual cancer cases would have…

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OEHHA Publishes Definition of Nickel

On May 2, 2019, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) published a definition of nickel (soluble compounds) under Proposition 65. OEHHA’s notice defines nickel (soluble compounds) as compounds of nickel with solubility in water of greater than 0.1 moles per liter at 20 degrees Celsius. OEHHA initially added nickel (soluble compounds) to the Prop 65 list as a chemical known to cause reproductive toxicity in October 2018, but did not define “soluble.” Warnings for exposures to nickel (soluble compounds) will be required in California as of October 26, 2019. Before placing nickel (soluble compounds) on the Proposition 65…

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NGOs Propose Moratorium on New PFAS

Congress has been urged by a US based NGO to suspend the introduction of new per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pending the release of information about their toxicity in the environment. The request was triggered by a review of chemical data reporting that revealed that the number of PFAS found in large quantities in the United States has soared. According to the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the number of PFAS classes has climbed from 786 in 2002 to 118 during the period from 2012-2015. This spike comes as a result of an industry pledge to limit the use…

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EPA Releases Proposal for Reviewing Certain Confidential Business Information under TSCA

The EPA released a proposed rule for procedures for verifying certain claims of confidentiality for chemical identity and the processes for EPA review of those claims. The goal of the proposed rule is to ensure that when a company asserts the identity of a chemical as confidential business information (CBI), it conforms to the criteria for CBI under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The proposed rule pertains to CBI claims for particular chemicals determined as “active” pursuant to the TSCA Inventory Notification Rule. The TSCA Inventory Notification Rule mandated that companies notify the EPA about the chemicals on the…

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