What is Proposition 65?
California Proposition 65 is an approved initiative that addresses concerns about exposure to chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. To comply with Proposition 65, businesses are required to display a warning for listed chemicals unless exposure is low enough to pose “no significant risk” of cancer or is significantly below levels observed to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. By providing this warning, Proposition 65 enables Californians to make informed decisions about the products they purchase and use.
What does a warning mean?
If a warning is placed on a product label, the business issuing the warning is aware or believes that one or more listed chemicals is present.
For chemicals that are listed as causing cancer, the "no significant risk level” is defined as the level of exposure that would result in not more than one excess case of cancer in 100,000 individuals exposed to the chemical over a 70-year lifetime. In other words, a person exposed to the chemical at the “no significant risk level” for 70 years would not have more than a “one in 100,000” chance of developing cancer as a result of that exposure.
For chemicals that are listed as causing birth defects or reproductive harm, the “no observable effect level” is divided by 1,000 in order to provide an ample margin of safety. Warnings are issued if the exposure to listed chemicals which cause birth defects or reproductive harm exceed 1/1000th of the “no observable effect level.”
What types of chemicals are on the Proposition 65 list?
The list contains a wide range of naturally occurring and synthetic chemicals that are known to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. These chemicals include additives or ingredients in common household products, food, drugs, tobacco, pesticides, dyes, solvents, construction products, manufacturing products, and byproducts of chemical processes. The list of chemicals is available at http://www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65/prop65_list/Newlist.html.
I recently bought a product that came with a Proposition 65 warning. How can I trust that the product is safe?
According to the OEHHA, the organization that administers Proposition 65, “the fact that a product bears a Proposition 65 warning does not mean by itself that the product is unsafe.” Proposition 65 can be considered to be more a “right to know” law than a pure product safety law. It is intended to inform and empower Californian consumers so they can better decide whether or not they would like to purchase and use the product.
Why has Zeckos® placed a Proposition 65 warning on its products?
Zeckos® has chosen to display the Proposition 65 warning based on the possible presence of one or more listed chemicals, without evaluating the level of exposure. The level of exposure in our products may be negligible or well within the “no significant risk level.” However, to uphold Californian consumers’ rights to make informed decisions, we have opted to place the Proposition 65 warnings on all our products.
Where can I get more information on Proposition 65?
For general information about Proposition 65, please visit http://oehha.ca.gov/prop65/background/p65plain.html.