Legal Blog

OEHHA Proposes NSRL and Publishes Draft Cancer Inhalation Unit Risk Factor Document for PCBTF

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is proposing a No Significant Risk Level for p-chloro-α,α,α-trifluorotoluene (PCBTF) under Proposition 65, and has published a draft cancer inhalation unit risk factor (IUR) document for the chemical under the Air Toxics Hot Spots Program. The deadline for comments for both the proposed NSRL and the draft IUR document is December 2, 2019. OEHHA also is hosting two workshops, on November 13 (in Diamond Bar, CA) and 15 (in Oakland, CA), 2019, to discuss the draft IUR factor document. PCBTF is used in the preparation of dyes, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and as…

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Are Proposition 65 Warnings Affecting Consumer Perceptions of Product Safety?

A variety of recent news articles suggest that Proposition 65 warnings are affecting consumer perceptions of product safety, particularly consumers who live outside of California and are unfamiliar with California’s “right to know” act. A Minnesota grandfather was startled to find a Prop 65 cancer warning on his granddaughter’s tube of “slime” that she picked up as a prize at a local county fair. Since his discovery, he moved to start a “watchdog effort” to encourage more stringent regulation among the fair’s vendors. In Ohio, a school district returned a donation of backpacks loaded with school supplies after a Prop…

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American Chemistry Council Challenges Priority Product Designation of SPF Systems

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has joined the General Coatings Manufacturing Corp. (GCM) in filing the first lawsuit to challenge a Priority Product designation under California's Safer Consumer Products (SCP) Regulations. Pending in Fresno County Superior Court, the complaint alleges that the California Department of Toxic Substances Control's (DTSC) Priority Product designation of spray polyurethane foam systems with unreacted methylene diphenyl diisocyanates (SPF Systems)  is contrary to governing statute and regulations, that SPF Systems fall outside the scope of Priority Products because they are already regulated under existing law, and that the listing is inconsistent with DTSC’s statutory and regulatory…

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DTSC Announces SCP Program Webinar on Food Packaging Evaluation

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has announced it will hold a webinar on October 24, 2019 to present its initial findings from its food packaging evaluation under the Safer Consumer Products (SCP) Program. DTSC undertook this evaluation in connection with implementing its 2018-2020 Priority Product Work Plan. In that Work Plan, DTSC identified seven product categories that it intends to evaluate under its SCP Program authority as possible Priority Products. Priority Products are product-chemical combinations identified by DTSC through formal rulemaking. Once identified, Priority Products must undergo an alternative analysis assessment to ascertain if "safer" alternatives to…

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OEHHA Publishes Hazard Identification Document for Marijuana Smoke and THC

The California Office of Health Hazard Assessment has published its hazard identification document (HID), "Evidence on the Developmental Toxicity of Cannabis (Marijuana) Smoke and ∆9-THC." The HID, at over 400 pages, reviews a number of studies, including human epidemiological studies, examining potential reproductive toxicity effects of cannabis smoke and THC. The HID is being submitted to the Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee (DARTIC) in advance of its December 11, 2019 meeting to determine whether these substances should be listed under Proposition 65. The deadline for public comments on the HID is November 18, 2019, and may be submitted via…

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