Eight Chemicals Submitted to the Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee for Consultation

Comment period extended to November 27, 2007

The California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is the lead agency for the implementation of the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 19861 (Proposition 65).  In this notice, OEHHA is announcing the list of chemicals identified through the “Process for Prioritizing Chemicals for Consideration Under Proposition 65 by the State’s Qualified Experts,” which was adopted in 2004.  These chemicals have been identified for possible preparation of hazard identification materials.  OEHHA will consult with the Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee (DARTIC) at meeting of the DARTIC scheduled for Monday, December 10, 2007 concerning whether to prepare hazard identification materials for any of the following chemicals: 

Chemical

CAS No.

Bisphenol-A

80-05-7

Bromodichloromethane 

75-27-4

Caffeine*

58-08-2

Chlorpyrifos 

2921-88-2

Chromium (hexavalent)

18540-29-2

DDE 

72-55-9

Methylisocyanate 

624-83-9

Sulfur dioxide

7446-09-5

The meeting will be held at the California Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters Building, Byron Sher Auditorium, at 1001 I Street, Sacramento, California.  The meeting will begin at 10:00 a.m. and will last until all business is conducted or until 5:00 p.m.  The agenda for the meeting will be provided in a future public notice published in advance of the meeting.

Based on the DARTIC’s recommendations at the December 10 meeting, OEHHA will select chemicals for preparation of hazard identification materials for the Committee to consider at future meetings in deciding whether to add those chemicals to the Proposition 65 list.  No listing decisions will be made concerning these identified chemicals at this time.

This notice marks the start of a 60-day public comment period.  Interested parties may provide comment on the extent of the scientific evidence pertaining to the selection of any of the proposed chemicals for preparation of hazard identification materials for consideration at future DARTIC meetings.  OEHHA will forward the comments to the DARTIC members prior to the December 10 meeting.

Copies of the summaries of available scientific information on the chemicals and related attachments are available on OEHHA’s Web site at www.oehha.ca.gov.  This information can also be obtained by calling OEHHA’s Proposition 65 Implementation Office at (916) 445-6900. 

Comments should be submitted in triplicate and directed to:

Cynthia Oshita
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
Proposition 65 Implementation
P.O. Box 4010
1001 I Street, 19th floor
Sacramento, California 95812-4010
FAX (916) 323-8803
Or via e-mail to coshita@oehha.ca.gov

Comments may also be delivered in person or by courier to the above address.  In order to be considered, comments must be received at OEHHA by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 6, 2007.

Footnotes and References

*In the event caffeine were selected for the development of hazard identification materials and were eventually listed by the DARTIC, warnings would not be required for exposures from certain foods, such as coffee, tea, or chocolate, where the caffeine in the product occurs naturally.  The regulations implementing Proposition 65 contain a provision exempting from the warning requirement exposures to listed chemicals that occur through foods, to the extent that the chemical is a natural constituent of the food and is not added by any known human activity (Title 22, Cal. Code of Regs. section 12501).

1 Health and Safety Code section 25249.5 et seq.