California Proposition 65
In 1986, California voters approved Proposition 65, officially known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, an initiative to address their growing concerns about exposure to chemicals of concern. The law requires that warnings are provided to California consumers when they might be exposed to chemicals identified by California as causing cancer or reproductive toxicity. This list currently includes more than 900 chemicals. Proposition 65 does not ban or restrict the sale of chemicals on the list. The warnings are intended to help Californians make informed decisions about their exposures to these chemicals from the products they use and the places they go.
The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) administers the Proposition 65 program. In August 2016 OEHHA adopted new regulations, effective on August 30, 2018, which change the information required in Proposition 65 warnings.
OEHHA has added titanium dioxide (airborne, unbound particles of respirable size), carbon black (airborne, unbound particles of respirable size) and chromium (hexavalent compounds) to the Proposition 65 list of chemicals. These chemicals listings affect “dry” products such as dry pigments, soft pastels and chalks, including PanPastel. These listings also affect spray applied paints, dry powdered tempera paints and powdered ceramic glazes.
For products containing Titanium White and/or Carbon Black:
⚠ WARNING: Cancer - www.P65warnings.ca.gov
For products containing Chromium Oxide:
⚠ WARNING: Cancer and Reproductive Harm - www.P65warnings.ca.gov