California Proposition 65

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) states that the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, known as Proposition 65 (Prop 65), protects the state’s drinking water sources from being contaminated with chemicals that cause cancer or reproductive defects. It requires businesses to give a “warning” if a product is sold in California and may expose consumers to any one of over 800 substances that is maintained by the state of California as likely to cause cancer or reproductive harm. Failure to do so may result in penalties of up to $2,500 per day, per violation.

Changes in California’s Prop 65 have made ensuring compliance with the warning requirements more detailed and complicated.

We can assist you on a full range of services related to Prop 65, from complying with regulation requirements to defending against claims and new listings. Foley’s Prop 65 services cover its effect on multiple industries including food & beverage, environmental, automotive, retail, telecommunications, and manufacturing.

Representative Prop 65 Experience

• Responding to and settling 60-day notice letters under Prop 65
• Compliance advice on the revisions to Prop 65 that went into effect in August 2018
• Compliance advice on the revisions to the “safe harbor” regulations for Prop 65 warnings that went into effect in December 2024
• A failure-to-warn claim for minute amounts of lead in the internal wiring of household garbage disposals
• Advice for manufacturers of household appliances on emissions and wiring warnings
• Representation as compliance counsel for a variety of manufacturers and distributors of candles, hand tools, toys, batteries, and household, consumer, and marine products
• Case evaluations for salmon fisheries and producers
• Defense of claims against various industry sectors, including asphalt paving contractors, clothing manufacturers, and national discount retailers
• Identification of potential consumer, employee, and environmental exposures to carcinogens and mutagens
• Development of warning strategies, safe-use determinations, and supplier certifications
• A failure to warn claim for minute amounts of arsenic in water filters
• Successful settlement and dismissal of Prop 65 claims involving diesel exhaust
• Counsel to a leading motor vehicle manufacturer regarding federal and state labeling requirements applicable to hazardous substances in consumer products, including requirements under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, the Consumer Product Safety Act, the Uniform Packaging and Labeling Regulation and Prop 65