U.S. – April 2024 California Proposition 65 – 60-Day Notices Analysis

Vol. 1407 | 14 Jun 2024

The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, commonly referred to as Proposition 65 (Prop 65), is enforced by the California Attorney General’s office or any district attorney or certain city attorneys or by any individual acting in the public interest. Prop 65 requires that an individual acting in the public interest, to enforce the Act give notice of the impending action to the person alleged to be committing the violation, along with the Attorney General, district attorneys and certain city attorneys in which the violation is alleged to have occurred. The notice must be sent to these parties no less than 60 days before commencing the action; thus, this notice is commonly referred to as the “60-day Notice of Violation”.

In April 2024, there were 351 60-day notices for violation of Prop 65, of which 52% of the notices served were for the category of Lead, 17% of notices were served for the presence of Phthalates, 31% of the notices were for the presence of Other chemicals.

Among the reported notices, bags and cases had 22 notices for the presence of phthalates, and 1 notice for the presence of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA). Externally decorated glass and ceramics had 26 notices for Lead. Footwear had 5 notices for the presence of Phthalates, and 1 notice for the presence of Bisphenol A (BPA).

The beauty and personal care category had 64 notices for the presence of other chemicals such as Titanium Dioxide and Diethanolamine.

There were 3 notices issued for the presence of Hexavalent Chromium in personal protective equipment (PPE) gloves made of leather.

There were 11 notices served for the presence of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) in several items such as rain jackets and vests, dietary supplements, curtain liners, stadium cushions, bandages, umbrellas, waist packs and lifting tapes.

For local and worldwide companies manufacturing and/or operating in the state of California, Intertek’s Prop 65 compliance services provide the expert support and laboratory testing qualifications needed to comply with regulations and mitigate complexities. Simply contact us.

For questions, please contact Harini Ramaswamy (harini.ramaswamy@intertek.com) and Andrew Loveland (andrew.loveland@intertek.com).