Proposition 65 is a Californian law aimed at protecting drinking water sources from contamination by hazardous chemicals. Corinne Benoliel and Pauline Ferreira-Theret, from Institut Scientis, summarise its principles and the obligations arising from it.
Officially titled the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, it more broadly requires companies with 10 or more employees to inform California citizens of their exposure to chemicals recognised as carcinogens and/or toxic to reproduction when they make consumer products (including cosmetics) available on the California market.
This law also requires the State of California to maintain an up-to-date list of chemicals covered by these requirements.
The OEHHA List and Expert Committees
The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) manages the list of substances recognised as carcinogens and/or reproductive toxins. These substances include additives or ingredients found in cosmetics, biocides, pesticides, common household products, food, medicines and primary packaging.
There are four processes for modifying the Proposition 65 list of substances.
Among them, the Carcinogens Identification Committee (CIC) and the Developmental and Reproductive Toxicants Identification Committee (DARTIC) meet at least once a year and are designated as “qualified state experts” for the evaluation of substances under Proposition 65.
More than 900 substances are currently included in the OEHHA’s Proposition 65 list. These are not generally cosmetic ingredients per se, but rather substances present in trace amounts (impurities in raw materials used in …
