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OEHHA Publishes Fact Sheet on Chloroprene

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has published a chloroprene fact sheet on its Proposition 65 warnings website. Chloroprene is a Proposition 65-listed carcinogen and is used to make neoprene, a synthetic rubber used in a number of consumer products including certain apparel. Notably, the fact sheet explains that “[u]sing neoprene products is unlikely to cause exposure to chloroprene. Levels of chloroprene in most neoprene products are very low.”

The OEHHA warning website, which is relatively new, is intended to assist consumers in understanding Proposition 65 warnings. Indeed, safe harbor warnings now must include the URL for the website, to facilitate this consumer information-gathering.

Proposition 65 is understood to establish a relatively low bar for an enforcer to claim an “exposure” to a listed chemical. In addition to supplementing information available to consumers, the publication of this fact sheet hopefully also will deter those Proposition 65 enforcers who leverage those loose statutory standards to extract settlements from manufacturers and sellers of products.

 

Grimaldi Law Offices has been advising clients for over 20 years on chemical and product regulation. For knowledgeable advice and in-depth analysis on your chemical regulatory compliance obligations, contact Grimaldi Law Offices at (415) 463-5186 or email us at [email protected].

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Ms. Grimaldi maintains a diverse environmental law practice focusing on chemical and product regulation and litigation defense. Her practice areas include Proposition 65, California's Safer Consumer Products Regulations, California's Rigid Plastic Packaging Container Act and the federal Toxic Substances Control Act. Ms. Grimaldi graduated from the University of California Hastings College of the Law magna cum laude and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Bacteriology from University of California, Davis. Prior to attending law school, she worked as a research assistant in laboratories at the University of California, San Francisco Cancer Research Institute and at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine.