Several Prop 65 settlements have been reached for consumer products containing BPA, formaldehyde or lead. Many of these allow a Prop 65 warning as an alternative.
California Proposition 65 (Prop 65) is the ‘Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986’, a ballot initiative passed overwhelmingly by Californian residents in November 1986. It requires the state to publish a list of chemicals that are known to cause cancer, birth defects and/or reproductive harm. First published in 1987, the list has evolved to include approximately 900 chemicals.
Among the list of chemicals is bisphenol A (BPA, CAS 80-05-7), which has been on the Prop 65 list since 2015, formaldehyde (gas, 1988), and lead (1987).
Under Prop 65, companies doing business in California must provide a clear and reasonable warning before knowingly and intentionally exposing anyone to a listed chemical. Unless exempt, businesses have 12 months to comply with this requirement once a chemical is listed.
In this communication, we summarize several settlements involving the three aforementioned chemicals in certain consumer goods (Table 1).
Entry | Scope | Reformulation/Warning |
| 1 | Bamboo bed sheet sets and bamboo pillowcase sets | ≤ 40 μg formaldehyde gas per 8 hours of expected use, otherwise warning |
| 2 | Drain plugs | < 1000 ppm lead, otherwise warning |
| 3 | Duck calls | BPA-free, otherwise warning |
| 4 | Food containers/storage | BPA-free, otherwise warning |
| 5 | Garments | ≤ 75 ppm formaldehyde (ISO 14184-1) – garments must comply with the Oeko-tex 100 standard in effect at the time of manufacturing |
| 6 | Padlock keys | < 1000 ppm lead, otherwise warning |
Table 1
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