Chemicals Listed Effective September 13, 2013 as Known to the State of California to Cause Cancer: Chloral, Chloral Hydrate, 1,1,1,2-Tetrachloroethane, and Trichloroacetic Acid

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) within the California Environmental Protection Agency is adding chloral (CAS No. 75-87-6), chloral hydrate (CAS No. 302-17-0), 1,1,1,2-tetrachloroethane (CAS No. 630-20-6), and trichloroacetic acid (CAS No. 76-03-9) to the list of chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer for purposes of the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65¹).  The listing of these four chemicals is effective September 13, 2013. 

Health and Safety Code section 25249.8(a) incorporates California Labor Code sections 6382(b)(1) and 6382(d) into Proposition 65.  The law requires that certain substances identified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) be listed as known to cause cancer under Proposition 65.  Labor Code section 6382(b)(1) refers to substances identified as human or animal carcinogens by IARC.  Labor Code section 6382(d) refers to chemicals that are within the scope of the federal Hazard Communications Standard.  The Federal Hazard Communications Standard relies on chemical designations made by IARC.  An explanation of the carcinogenicity classifications used by IARC, and the Monographs development and peer review by the international Working Groups of scientific experts convened by IARC, may be found at the following URL:  http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Preamble/CurrentPreamble.pdf (IARC Preamble).

The basis for the listing of chloral, chloral hydrate, 1,1,1,2-tetrachloroethane, and trichloroacetic acid was described in a public notice published in the July 26, 2013, issue of the California Regulatory Notice Register (Register 2013, No. 30-Z).  The title of the notice was “Notice of Intent to List Chemicals by the Labor Code Mechanism.”  The publication of the notice initiated a public comment period that closed on August 26, 2013.  No public comments were received.

A complete, updated Proposition 65 list is published elsewhere in this issue of the California Regulatory Notice Register and is available on the OEHHA website.

Chemical Reference

• Trichloroacetic Acid
• Chloral
• Chloral Hydrate
• 1,1,1,2-Tetrachloroethane

Related Notices

• Notice of Intent to List Chemicals by the Labor Code Mechanism: Chloral, chloral hydrate, 1,1,1,2-tetrachloroethane, and trichloroacetic acid

  Jul 26, 2013

Footnotes and References

¹Health and Safety Code, section 25249.5,et seq.

²Listing mechanism:  LC – “Labor Code” mechanism (Labor Code sections 6382(b)(1) and (d))