Chemicals Listed Under the AB Mechanism and Under Review for Possible Delisting

Dec 30, 1999

Availability of Summary Document for Chemicals Listed Under the Authoritative Body Mechanism and Under Review for Possible Delisting by the OEHHA Science Advisory Board's Carcinogen Identification Committee

The California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), as lead agency for the implementation of the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65), maintains the Proposition 65 list of chemicals that had been identified by the State to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. One of the mechanisms by which a chemical can be added to the Proposition 65 list is when the chemical has been identified as causing cancer by an organization that has been designated as "authoritative" for purposes of Proposition 65. The authoritative bodies for identifying agents as causing cancer are: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the National Toxicology Program, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

If the lead agency finds that a chemical is no longer identified by the authoritative body as causing cancer or reproductive toxicity, the listing under the Proposition can be reconsidered (Title 22, California Code of Regulation, Section 12306). Chemicals listed as causing cancer via the authoritative bodies mechanism and which are under reconsideration are referred to the Carcinogen Identification Committee (CIC), the State’s qualified experts for carcinogenicity determinations under the Proposition. The CIC then makes a recommendation as to whether the chemical should remain on the list.

In a public meeting of the CIC held September 25, 1997, OEHHA informed the CIC of five candidate chemicals which may no longer be identified by the authoritative body as causing cancer: allyl chloride, chlorodibromomethane, 1,1-dichloroethane, p-toluidine, and zineb.

Three of the five chemicals (allyl chloride, 1,1-dichloroethane, and p–toluidine) were originally scheduled to be discussed at the December 10, 1998, meeting of the CIC. A document summarizing relevant information on allyl chloride, 1,1-dichloroethane, and p–toluidine was released to the CIC and the public on October 30, 1998 (see California Regulatory Notice Register, Register 98, No. 44-Z). The CIC, at their December 10, 1999 meeting, deferred reconsideration of the listing of these chemicals as causing cancer under Proposition 65 until the next CIC meeting.

The next meeting of the CIC is scheduled for October 7, 1999. The meeting will begin at 10:00 a.m. in Training Room A, Elihu Harris State Building, 1515 Clay Street, Oakland, California, and will last until all business has been conducted or until 5:00 p.m. At this meeting the CIC will consider the authoritative bodies’ reviews and the carcinogenicity evidence for these five chemicals and make a recommendation regarding whether allyl chloride, chlorodibromomethane, 1,1-dichloroethane, p-toluidine, and zineb should continue to be included on the Proposition 65 list.

A document summarizing authoritative bodies’ reviews and carcinogenicity evidence for all five chemicals have been developed. Copies of the summary document are available from the Proposition 65 Implementation Office and may be requested by calling (916) 445-6900. The documents are also available through the Internet.

Comments on this document, or other issues related to the reconsideration of the listing of these specific chemicals on the Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer should be directed by September 27, 1999 to:

Cynthia Oshita
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
Post Office Box 4010
Sacramento, CA 95812-4010
Fax (916) 327-1097

Final document released on December 30, 1999