NEWS

State Water Board Fines Laboratory for Alleged Misrepresentations

The State Water Resources Control Board (SWB) has fined Western Analytical Laboratories, Inc. $90,000 and rejected the lab's pending accreditation renewal claiming the company falsified wastewater analysis data.

Prop. 65 Defense Coalition Asks Governor Newsom to Delay Private Enforcement Actions Due to COVID-19

On May 5, 2020, a group of consumer product manufacturers and retailers lead by the Consumer Brands Association (Consumer Brands) sent a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom asking him to delay private Prop. 65 enforcement actions in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Recent California Supreme Court Decision Provides Strong Support for No Jury Trials in Proposition 65 Actions

On April 30, 2020, the California Supreme Court issued an opinion that will likely impact the availability of jury trials in Proposition 65 actions.

EPA Finds Most Uses of Perchloroethylene Pose and Unreasonable Risk

On April 27, U.S. EPA released its draft risk evaluation of perchloroethylene. The evaluation is the tenth and last of the first ten risk evaluations that the agency has released under the 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

EPA's Efforts to Use TSCA to Limit PFAS Exposure Challenged by States and Environmental Groups

Several state Attorney Generals, including California AG Xavier Becerra, have filed comments criticizing a recent U.S. EPA proposal to limit exposure to per-fluoroalkyl  and polyflouroalkyl substances (collectively known as PFAS) pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

FDA Orders Recall of Zantac and Other Drugs Containing Cancer-Causing Chemical from Market; Private Prop. 65 Enforcer Serves Notices

Since mid-2019, the U.S. FDA has been investigating over-the-counter heartburn drugs containing the active ingredient ranitidine (OTC Ranitidine), including Zantac, in connection to a contaminant called N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA).

Business Groups Question Latest OEHHA Proposal to Change Warning Regulation

A coalition of 26 business groups has lodged a strong objection to a recent move by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to amend its warning regulations under Proposition 65.

60-Day Notice Trends: April 2020

Although California's superior courts are largely closed due to COVID-19, private Prop. 65 enforcers have served over 227 60-Day Notices in April thus far. The trend of alleging exposures to Prop. 65 chemicals in food products continues with full force.

CHEMICAL OF THE MONTH: Ethylene Oxide

In a report released on March 31, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Inspector General, Sean W. O'Donnnell, concluded that EPA has failed to warn residents living near facilities that emit significant amounts of ethylene oxide about the dangers of the chemical.

AG Becerra Weighs in on EPA Rulemaking to List PFAS "Forever Chemicals" on Toxics Release Inventory

The U.S. EPA has issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to potentially list per-fluoroalkyl and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (collectively, PFAS) on the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) under the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).

Attorney General Becerra Criticizes EPA for Endangering California's Agricultural Communities by Downgrading the Cancer Risk Posed By 1,3-Dichloropropene

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over a proposal that could loosen restrictions on the pesticide 1,3-dichloropropene's (1,3-D).

OEHHA Delays Setting Date for CIC Meeting on Acetaminophen

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has announced it will not be rescheduling its already postponed meeting of the Carcinogen Identification Committee (CIC) due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

EPA Releases Draft Scope Documents for Seven More Chemicals Subject to Next TSCA Assessments

U.S. EPA has announced the release of draft scoping documents for the final seven of the next 20 chemicals that will undergo risk assessments pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

OEHHA Issues SUD for BPA Exposure From Eyewear Products

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has issued a Safe Use Determination (SUD) covering exposure to the Proposition 65 listed reproductive toxicant Bisphenol A (BPA) from specified eyewear products.

EPA Releases Draft Scope Documents for Thirteen Chemicals Subject to Next TSCA Assessments

In December U.S. EPA announced the next 20 chemicals that will undergo risk assessments pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act.

U.S. EPA Finds Unreasonable Risk From All Ongoing Uses of Asbestos

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a draft risk assessment that finds that most current uses of asbestos pose an unreasonable risk to most users and other exposed individuals.

Newsom Urges State to Boost Chemical Evaluations

Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed the state take new action to address the health risks of chemicals, blaming a lackluster effort at the federal level.

Hearing On Prop. 65 Glyphosate Listing Now Set for June 15

A federal District Court Judge in California has now scheduled a Monday, June 15 hearing to consider summary judgment motions from both sides in a case that seeks to invalidate, on first amendment grounds, the listing of the fungicide glyphosate as a Proposition 65 carcinogen.

OEHHA Forcefully Responds to Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine's Request to List Processed Meat as a Known Carcinogen

On March 12, the day after PCRM filed its lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court to force OEHHA to list processed meat as a carcinogen under the Labor Code mechanism OEHHA sent a letter to PCRM declining to grant PCRM's earlier administrative petition regarding the issue.

OEHHA Augments Record on Proposed Consumer Product Warnings

The Office  of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has filed a notice augmenting the record supporting some recent proposed changes to its regulations on what constitutes a "clear and reasonable warning" under Proposition 65 with respect to catalog and internet sales and the sale of alcoholic beverages.