Notice of Modification of Chemical Listing by the Labor Code Mechanism Effective November 23, 2018: Alcoholic Beverages

Nov 23, 2018

The California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is modifying the listing of alcoholic beverages as shown in the table below as known to the state to cause cancer under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65^[1]). This action is being taken pursuant to the “Labor Code” listing mechanism^[2].

The basis for the modification of the listing was described in a public notice published in the August 3, 2018 issue of the California Regulatory Notice Register (Register 2018, No. 31-Z). The title of the notice was “Notice of Intent to Modify a Listing by the Labor Code Mechanism: Alcoholic Beverages.” The publication of the notice initiated a 30-day public comment period. OEHHA received six public comments on this change. The comments and OEHHA’s responses are posted with this Notice of Modification.

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 at https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/proposition-65-list.

In summary, OEHHA is modifying the current listing of “Ethanol in Alcoholic Beverages” to read as follows^[3]:

Chemical	CAS No.	Endpoint	Listing Mechanism
Alcoholic beverages	---	Cancer	LC

^*Listing mechanism: LC – “Labor Code” mechanism (Health and Safety Code section 25249.8(a) and Title 27 Cal. Code of Regs. section 25904)

Footnotes and References

^[1] Health and Safety Code section 25249.5 et seq.

^[2] Health and Safety Code section 25249.8(a) and Title 27, Cal.Code of Regs., section 25904.

^[3] There are two other related listings that will not be changed by this action. “Ethyl Alcohol in Alcoholic Beverages” will remain listed for reproductive toxicity (developmental endpoint) and “Alcoholic Beverages, when Associated with Alcohol Abuse” will remain listed for cancer. These listings were made pursuant to other mechanisms and those findings have not changed.