Norton Rose Fulbright: California OEHHA Signals Reforms To Proposition 65 Regulations

By William L. Troutman and Matthew Gurvitz 

In the wake of the Governor Brown’s failed effort to get substantive Proposition 65 reform, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assert (OEHHA) signaled that it is still interested in reforming the law by revising the regulations under its jurisdiction. On September 16, 2014, OEHHA issued a request for public comment on changes it is considering, including:

• modifications to the alternative risk levels for chemicals in foods
• updates to the “Naturally Occurring” regulation, which states that human consumption of food is not an exposure under Prop 65 if the chemical is naturally occurring in that food
• streamlining the Safe Use Determination process, which allows a business to request a determination from OEHHA that an exposure under a specific set of facts does not require a warning
• clarifying regulatory provisions on averaging exposures
• prioritizing chemicals for the development or update of safe harbor levels
• identifying issues that would benefit from interpretive guidelines, similar to OEHHA’s interpretative guidelines on sulfur dioxide in dried fruits (no warning required) and methanol from pectin in fruits and vegetables (methanol is not an exposure when naturally occurring).
• changes to the use of data on postnatal developmental exposures

Click here to read the entire post.

For more cutting edge commentary on developing issues, visit Norton Rose Fulbright’s Consumer Products Law Blog.

For more information about LexisNexis products and solutions, connect with us through our corporate site.