Reformatting of the List of Chemicals Known to the State of California to Cause Reproductive Toxicity

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) of the California Environmental Protection Agency is the lead agency for the implementation of Proposition 65. Proposition 65 requires publication, at least annually, of a list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity. OEHHA, as lead agency for Proposition 65, administers the publication of the list. While not required by statute, the endpoint or endpoints serving as the basis for a finding that a chemical is known to cause reproductive toxicity are indicated on the Proposition 65 list. This is currently done through the publication of three lists of chemicals that cause: 1) developmental toxicity; 2) female reproductive toxicity; and 3) male reproductive toxicity. Formally placing a chemical on one or more of these lists identifies the chemical as known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity.

The original Proposition 65 list was comprised of a list of carcinogens and a single list of chemicals that cause reproductive toxicity. The endpoint on which the reproductive toxicity listing was based was not provided. To provide this information, since October 1989 the list of chemicals causing reproductive toxicity has been published as the three lists of chemicals causing developmental, male reproductive and female reproductive toxicity. To provide a more streamlined list, OEHHA proposes instead that the list of chemicals known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity be reformatted to a single list, ordered alphabetically by chemical, with the basis for listing each chemical clearly noted. The same information included in the current list can be more easily obtained in a single list. While for some time the public has been used to seeing the Proposition 65 list published in the current format, OEHHA can see no significant disadvantage to the reformatting proposed. A more readily understood format is in line with OEHHA's initiatives to clarify procedures and provide clear and transparent information to the public on Proposition 65 matters.

Reformatting of the list is an administrative matter not subject to the Administrative Procedure Act, and can be accomplished through the submission of a "for publication only" package to the Office of Administrative Law. However, because of the great interest of the public in Proposition 65, we invited public comment on this proposal in a notice published on June 27, 2001. In addition a public forum was held on September 10, 2001.