California issues final rule adopting new “clear and reasonable warnings” required under Proposition 65.  

• By way of background, on November 27, 2015, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) proposed to revise warnings required under Proposition 65 (Prop 65) and accepted public comments through January 25, 2016.  Subsequently, on March 25, 2016, OEHHA provided a notice of changes to the proposed regulation to repeal and add a new Article 6 to Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations (CCR) concerning “clear and reasonable warnings” under Prop 65.

• On September 2, 2016, OEHHA announced a final rule concerning “clear and reasonable warnings” required under Prop 65.  In general, the new requirements attempt to provide consumers with more detailed information about potential chemical exposures.  In addition, the regulation seeks to clarify the relative responsibilities of manufacturers and others in the chain of distribution for providing warnings for products that are eventually sold at retail.  The issuance of this final rule effectively repeals all the regulatory provisions of Title 27 of the CCR, Article 6 (sections 25601 et seq.), except those added via an emergency rulemaking in April 2016 related to warnings for exposures to bisphenol A in canned foods and beverages (Sections 25603.3(f) and (g)).  (See our previous post regarding BPA specific warning requirements here).  The new warning requirements, which usher in significant changes for many manufacturers, will be operative on August 30, 2018.