The Californian Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has proposed amendments to the short form of the ‘clear and reasonable’ warning required by Proposition 65 (Prop 65), known as a ‘Prop 65 Warning’.
The proposed amendment to Article 6, ‘Clear and Reasonable Warnings’, was issued on January 8, 2021. Article 6 was originally adopted by the OEHHA in August 2016, and it became effective in August 2018. It adopted safe harbor warning methods and content, including provisions for a short form version.
The proposed changes will clarify the guidance concerning the provision of safe harbor warnings and will align the short form warning with the original stated intent – i.e., a short form Prop 65 Warning should only be used where, due to limited label space on the consumer product, a full-length warning is not possible.
The proposal will also clarify the use of short form warnings for exposures to listed chemicals from food.
Prop 65, or the ‘Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986’, is a unique piece of legislation passed in November 1986. It requires the state to maintain a list of chemicals (Prop 65 List) known to cause cancer, birth defects and/or reproductive harm. Unless exempted, businesses operating in California must provide ‘a clear and reasonable warning’ (Prop 65 Warning) before knowingly and intentionally exposing anyone to a substance on the Prop 65 List, which now contains around 900 chemicals. Companies have twelve months to comply with this requirement once a substance is included in the Prop 65 List.
Stakeholders have until March 8, 2021 to comment on the proposal.
SGS Prop 65 Services
With a global network of laboratories, SGS can offer comprehensive testing, product assessment and consultancy services related to California Proposition 65. SGS can assist your risk management strategy in consumer goods, such as DIYs, electrical and electronics, hardgoods products, juvenile products, and textile & toy products. Learn more about SGS’s Prop 65 Services.
SGS SafeGuardS keep you up to date with the latest news and developments in the consumer goods industry. Read the full New Proposed Amendments to Proposition 65 Short-form Warning Labels SafeGuardS.
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