SG 07/23
Multiple settlements have been reached for a range of consumer products containing Prop 65 List chemicals. Many of these agreements 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 or reproductive harm. First published in 1987, the list has evolved to include approximately 900 chemicals.
One important Prop 65 provision requires companies doing business in California to 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 multiple settlements involving a variety of consumer goods containing the following chemicals:
- One or more phthalates (Table 1)
- Lead (Table 2)
- Chromium (VI) compounds, N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol S (BPS), bisphenol F (BPF), bisphenol AF (BPAF), bisphenol Z (BPZ), bisphenol AP (BPAP) and bisphenol B (BPB) (Table 3)
It is interesting to note that a settlement for BPA in phone cases also allows no detectable amount of BPA and six BPA-analogs (BPS, BPF, BPAF, BPZ, BPAP and BPB) as an alternative. These six BPA-analogs are currently not on the Prop 65 list of chemicals (Table 3, entry 4).
Additionally, the parties in two settlements involving chromium (VI) compounds in leather footwear and gloves agreed to reformulate their products to no more than 0.1% total chromium in the tanned leather of these products using ISO 17072-2 ‘Leather – Chemical determination of metal content – Part 2: Total metal content’ (Table 3, entries 2 and 3)
A Prop 65 settlement is a consent agreement between the parties named in the settlement and any party not named in the settlement is not bound by it.
Abbreviations
| Entry | Abbreviation | Phthalate | CAS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BBP | Butyl benzyl phthalate | 85-68-7 |
| 2 | DBP | Di-n-butyl phthalate | 84-74-2 |
| 3 | DEHP | Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate | 117-81-7 |
| 4 | DIDP | Di-isodecyl phthalate | 68515-49- 1/26761-40-0 |
| 5 | DINP | Diisononyl phthalate | --- |
| 6 | DnHP | Di-n-hexyl phthalate | 84-75-3 |
SGS is committed to providing information about development in regulations for consumer products as complimentary services. Through a global network of laboratories, SGS provides a wide range of services including physical/mechanical testing, analytical testing and consultancy work for technical and non-technical parameters applicable to a comprehensive range of consumer products. Contact us for more information or visit our website. In the end, it’s only trusted because it’s tested.
For enquiries, please contact:
Dr. Hingwo Tsang
Global Information and Innovation Manager
t: +852 2774 7420
Melanie Schubert
Senior Technical Manager
t: +1 312 414 9394
© SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SA. This publication or website is a property of SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SA. All contents including website designs, text, and graphics contained herein are owned by or licensed to SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SA. The information provided is for technical and general information purposes only and offers no legal advice. The information is no substitute for professional legal advice to ensure compliance with the applicable laws and regulations. All information is provided in good faith “as is”, and SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SA makes no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, and does not warrant that the information will be error-free or meet any particular criteria of performance or quality.
