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

Vol. 1400 | 26 Mar 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 February 2024, there were 352 60-day notices for violation of Prop 65, of which 51% of the notices served were for the category of Lead, 18% 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 17 notices for the presence of phthalates, and 1 notice for the presence of Hexavalent Chromium. Externally decorated glass and ceramics had 34 notices for Lead. Footwear had 5 notices for the presence of Phthalate, and 1 notice for the presence of Bisphenol A (BPA). There were 14 notices issued for the presence of Phthalates in the category of packaging. 

The beauty and personal care category had 63 notices for the presence of other chemicals such as Titanium Dioxide, Diethanolamine, and Benzophenone.

There were 3 notices issued for the presence of Hexavalent Chromium in handbags and gloves used as personal protective equipment.

There were 16 notices served for the presence of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) in apparel, personal accessories such as umbrellas. There were 3 notices issued for the presence of PFOA found in furniture covers, device accessories and hardware. There was 1 notice served for the presence of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) in panty liners.

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).