SGS, the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company, is advising businesses that operate in California, USA, of several Proposition 65 (Prop 65) settlement agreements involving lead in consumer goods.
These settlement agreements involving reformulation:
- Ceramic planters with exterior designs: no more than 90 ppm lead and no more than 1 μg releasable lead (NIOSH 9100)
- Desk organizers with brass components: no more than 90 ppm lead and no more than 1.0 μg releasable lead (NIOSH 9100)
- Exterior designs on pencil cups, paper clip trays, photo frames made from ceramic: no more than 1 μg releasable lead (NIOSH 9100)
- Garden hoses: no more than 100 ppm lead
- Holiday decor bells with exterior decorations: no more than 90 ppm lead and no more than 1 μg releasable lead (NIOSH 9100)
- Rubber couplings (flexible couplings): no more than 100 ppm lead
Stakeholders should be aware that the agreement for rubber couplings also includes a provision for di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) – no more than 1000 ppm of each.
All settlement agreements allow a Prop 65 Warning as an alternative.
Prop 65, or the ‘Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986’, is a unique piece of legislation passed in November 1986 that requires the state to maintain a list of chemicals (Prop 65 List) known to cause cancer, birth defects and/or reproductive harm. Unless exempted, businesses operating in California must provide ‘a clear and reasonable warning’ (Prop 65 Warning) before knowingly and intentionally exposing anyone to a substance on the Prop 65 List. Once a substance is included in the list, companies have twelve months to comply with this requirement.
The Prop 65 List now contains over 900 substances, including lead, which was first listed as a chemical known to cause birth defects and reproductive harm in 1987. It was later listed as a substance known to cause cancer in 1992. This means, unless exempted, companies operating in California have been required to provide a Prop 65 Warning for lead content since February 1988.
Settlement agreements are only legally binding on named parties, but they do provide an indication of how manufacturers and suppliers should progress when operating in California.
SGS Prop 65 Services
With a global network of laboratories, SGS can offer comprehensive testing, product assessment and consultancy services related to California Proposition 65. SGS can assist your risk management strategy in consumer goods, such as DIYs, electrical and electronics, hardgoods products, juvenile products, and textile & toy products. In the end, it’s only trusted because it’s tested. Learn more about SGS’s Prop 65 Services.
SGS SafeGuardS keep you up to date with the latest news and developments in the consumer goods industry. Read the full California Proposition 65: Reformulation of Lead in Consumer Goods SafeGuardS.
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For further information contact:
Dr. HingWo Tsang
Global Information and Innovation Manager
Tel:(+852) 2774 7420
Email: crs.media@sgs.com
Website: www.sgs.com/cgnr
LinkedIn: sgs-consumer-goods-&-retail
About SGS
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