As You Sow prosecuted California's auto paint makers for violation of Proposition 65, which requires warnings on products with toxic ingredients. The manufacturers have agreed to pay $1.2 million, keep lead and other toxic metals out of new paints, and place safety warnings on existing paint products sold to auto repair and remodeling shops. As You Sow has sued the Du Pont Company, PPG Industries, BASF, Akzo Nobel and 27 other paint companies in several countries for alleged violations of Prop 65. As You Sow will divide the settlements with the state and several environmental groups. "We believe that by forcing manufacturers to reformulate for the California market, the incentives will be there to take heavy metals out of products nationwide," said Tom Van Dyck, president of As You Sow.
The San Francisco based group As You Sow, led by attorney Clifford Chanler, has received an award of substantial attorneys' fees from a San Francisco Superior Court judge as result of two successful cases under Proposition 65. As You Sow received over $48,000 of total fees and costs for preparing and moving forward with a case prosecuting The R.J. McGlennon Company for selling paint containing toluene without the required Prop. 65 warning. McGlennon settled the case and agreed to label future products with a standard Prop. 65 warning indicating that the chemical was known to cause cancer and birth defects in the State of California. As You Sow was also awarded $214,749 for their spade work that supported the Attorney General's action in prosecuting multiple paint manufacturers, including Sherwin Williams.
The attorney general's office and As You Sow both prosecuted Sherwin-Williams, the largest producer of spray paint in California, as well as 38 other companies for violation of Prop 65 by failing to provide a clear warning label on the products that contain toluene, a chemical known to cause cancer. Sherwin-Williams has agreed to pay a $1 million penalty under Prop 65 as settlement. Other companies in violation include Ace Hardware, DAP Products, and ITW-Devcon.
In a series of lawsuits brought under Proposition 65, three paint stripper manufacturing companies were forced to warn customers of the potential cancer risk of the toxic chemicals used in their production or to stop distributing the products in California. The multitude of lawsuits against violating manufacturers have resulted in the removal of methylene chloride and the introduction of alternative products that do not contain cancer causing ingredients.
Prop 65, passed in 1986, requires warnings on household products if they expose the public to even minute amounts of chemicals linked to cancer or birth defects. But now the effectiveness of Proposition 65 and the science that underlies it are being challenged. Many legal and scientific experts argue that over the years the law has caused certain hazards to be exaggerated and the public has been misled.link to site.