U.S. – California: OEHHA Proposes Further Modification to Proposition 65 (Prop65) Short Form Warnings

Vol. 1280 | 16 Dec 2021

California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued proposed amendments to Article 6 Clear and Reasonable Warnings - Short Form. After reviewing a total of 160 written comments and 21 oral comments, during the 60-day public comment period (from January 8 through March 29, 2021), the following changes were proposed by OEHHA.

1. Increase the maximum label size for short-form warnings from 5 square inches to 12 square inches since several commenters expressed concerns about the originally proposed size.
2. Allow the use of short-form warning content on the internet or in catalogs when the short form warning is used on the product label, in order to consistently use the same warning on the actual product, online as well as on marketing material.
3. Require listing of chemicals for each toxicity endpoint.
4. While businesses are still allowed to use the word “WARNING,” indicating as “CA WARNING” or “CALIFORNIA WARNING” would instead make it clear that the warnings are issued pursuant to the California law.
5. Additional warning option that more directly addresses the exposure to carcinogens or reproductive toxicants to provide an additional safe harbor warning that can be used on the product label.
6. Instead of using the terms “product label,” the term “label” is now being proposed, since commenters felt that usage of “product label” was misleading.

Example short form warning for listed carcinogen:

WARNING [OR CA WARNING OR CALIFORNIA WARNING]: Cancer risk from exposure to [NAME OF CHEMICAL KNOWN TO CAUSE CANCER] - www.P65Warnings.ca.gov

or

WARNING [OR CA WARNING OR CALIFORNIA WARNING]: Exposes you to [NAME OF CHEMICAL KNOWN TO CAUSE CANCER], a carcinogen - www.P65Warnings.ca.gov

Example short form warning for listed reproductive toxicant:

WARNING [OR CA WARNING OR CALIFORNIA WARNING]: Risk of reproductive harm from exposure to [NAME OF CHEMICAL KNOWN TO CAUSE REPRODUCTIVE TOXICITY] - www.P65Warnings.ca.gov

or

WARNING [OR CA WARNING OR CALIFORNIA WARNING]: Exposes you to [NAME OF CHEMICAL KNOWN TO CAUSE REPRODUCTIVE TOXICITY], a reproductive toxicant - www.P65Warnings.ca.gov

Example short form warning for exposure to both listed carcinogens and reproductive toxicants:

WARNING [OR CA WARNING OR CALIFORNIA WARNING]: Cancer risk from [NAME OF CHEMICAL KNOWN TO CAUSE CANCER] and of reproductive harm from exposure to [NAME OF CHEMICAL KNOWN TO CAUSE REPRODUCTIVE TOXICITY] - www.P65Warnings.ca.gov

or

WARNING [OR CA WARNING OR CALIFORNIA WARNING]: Exposes you to [NAME OF CHEMICAL KNOWN TO CAUSE CANCER], a carcinogen, and [NAME OF CHEMICAL KNOWN TO CAUSE REPRODUCTIVE TOXICITY], a reproductive toxicant - www.P65Warnings.ca.gov

For exposure to chemical listed as both a carcinogen and a reproductive toxicant:

WARNING [OR CA WARNING OR CALIFORNIA WARNING]: Cancer risk and reproductive harm from [NAME OF CHEMICAL KNOWN TO CAUSE CANCER AND REPRODUTIVE TOXICITY] exposure - www.P65Warnings.ca.gov

or

WARNING [OR CA WARNING OR CALIFORNIA WARNING]: Exposes you to [NAME OF CHEMICAL KNOWN TO CAUSE CANCER AND REPRODUTIVE TOXICITY], a carcinogen and reproductive toxicant - www.P65Warnings.ca.gov

Deadline for public comments on the proposed rule is January 21, 2022.

The following link provides additional information about the further modifications to the proposed amendments: https://oehha.ca.gov/media/downloads/crnr/shortformmodifiedregtext121321.pdf

For questions, please contact Harini Ramaswamy (harini.ramaswamy@intertek.com, +1 847 871 1047), Dr. Stella Xingyu Li (xingyu.li@intertek.com, +1 503 351 9612 ) or Dr. Pratik Ichhaporia (pratik.ichhaporia@intertek.com , +1 847 212 8273)