Prop 65 California

The majority of public drinking water wells tested on Cape Cod, Mass. are contaminated with pharmaceuticals, consumer product chemicals, and other contaminants, according to a recent report by Silent Spring Institute.  Septic systems are likely the main source of the contamination.

Researchers found contaminants in 15 of 20 public wells and two distribution systems.  The most frequently found contaminants were an antibiotic, sulfamethoxadole, and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), a chemical used in stain-resistant and non-stick coatings that is associated with chronic kidney disease.

Cape Cod is particularly vulnerable to contamination because of its shallow, sandy groundwater source. Cape Cod’s wastewater is disposed of on land, primarily in septic systems, in order to protect the coastal marine sanctuary.  The wastewater leaches from septic systems into the aquifer.  According to Silent Spring, this has nationwide implications, as a quarter of U.S. households use septic systems or small community systems to process wastewater, and about 40% of Americans rely on groundwater for drinking water.

Silent Spring advises residents of Cape Cod and other areas to protect their drinking water by pumping septic systems as recommended, properly disposing of medications and other hazardous substances according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and purchasing additive-free household products.

The full study can be found on Silent Spring’s website.  The Chanler Group’s clients sometimes accept a cy pres payment, wherein the defendant makes a donation to Silent Spring Institute, in lieu of additional penalties.

The Chanler Group represents citizen enforcers who, acting in the public interest, commence actions against businesses offering products for sale in California that contain chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm without first providing the health hazard warning required by Proposition 65. Citizen enforcers bringing Proposition 65 actions in the public interest may obtain a Court Judgment imposing civil penalties, an injunction requiring reformulation of products, and/or provision of health hazard warnings. The Chanler Group has represented citizen enforcers of Proposition 65 for more than twenty years.

Effective today, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)  designated the common plasticizer Diisononyl Phthalate as known to cause cancer.  

When OEHHA, the state agency responsible for implementing Proposition 65, designates a chemical as known to cause cancer and/or reproductive harm—thus adding the chemical to the State’s list of chemicals known to cause such harm—such chemical becomes subject to the “clear and reasonable warning” requirement of Proposition 65.  Under Proposition 65, businesses offering products for sale in California containing chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm must first provide consumers with a health hazard warning.  This warning requirement is the legal mechanism that enforces  the public’s right to know when products contain such chemicals.  Companies have a one-year grace period after a chemical has been designated as known to cause cancer or reproductive harm to comply with the warning requirement.  Thus, companies that offer products containing DINP for sale in California, have until December 20, 2014 to comply with the warning requirement of Proposition 65.

DINP is a general purpose plasticizer commonly used to make vinyl and plastic materials softer and more pliable, and is found  in vinyl flooring, wire and cable insulation, stationery, coated fabrics, gloves, toys, tubing, garden hoses, footwear, automobile undercoatings and roofing materials.

OEHHA’s Carcinogen Identification Committee identified DINP as a known carcinogen based on animal studies showing that oral exposure to DINP  increased the incidence of liver tumors, islet cell tumors of the pancreas and mononuclear cell leukemia in male and female rats; kidney tumors in male rats; testicular cell cancer in male rats; and uterine tumors in female rats.

The Chanler Group represents citizen enforcers who, acting in the public interest, commence actions against businesses offering products for sale in California that contain chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm without first providing the health hazard warning required by Proposition 65. Citizen enforcers bringing Proposition 65 actions in the public interest may obtain a Court Judgment imposing civil penalties, an injunction requiring reformulation of products, and/or provision of health hazard warnings. The Chanler Group has represented citizen enforcers of Proposition 65 for more than twenty years.

A new research study has found that holiday garlands and mardi gras beads may contain hazardous chemicals such as lead, flame retardants, and phthalates, which are linked to cancer, birth defects and other reproductive harm.

The study, which was a collaboration between the Ecology Center and Verdigras (an organization dedicated to “greening” Mardi Gras), tested over a hundred beaded products, including holiday garlands and mardi gras beads, and found that most of them contained lead in excess of the federal standard, as well as phthalate chemicals and brominated and halogenated flame retardants.  All of these hazardous chemicals are known to the State of California to cause cancer or reproductive harm, and many of these flame retardants are restricted chemicals in some states.

One Fox News story noted that these beads are made out of recycled plastic and electronic waste, which are often loaded with toxic chemicals.  The colorful beads are especially appealing to children, but they do not fall under the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s definition of toys and are not regulated as such.

The complete study can be found at HealthyStuff.org.

The Chanler Group represents citizen enforcers who, acting in the public interest, commence actions against businesses offering products for sale in California that contain chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm without first providing the health hazard warning required by Proposition 65. Citizen enforcers bringing Proposition 65 actions in the public interest may obtain a Court Judgment imposing civil penalties, an injunction requiring reformulation of products, and/or provision of health hazard warnings. The Chanler Group has represented citizen enforcers of Proposition 65 for more than twenty years.