Bisphenol A Declared a Known Female Reproductive Toxicant to the State of California

Bisphenol A (BPA) has been declared a female reproductive toxicant and added to a list of chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, and/or reproductive harm, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) announced earlier this week.

Under Proposition 65, companies offering products for sale that contain such chemicals must provide consumers with a “clear and reasonable” warning of the risks of exposure.  Companies now have one year from the date of the listing to comply.

California designated BPA a reproductive toxicant in 2013 but was sued by the American Chemistry Council (ACC), and BPA was removed from the list pending litigation.  Earlier this year, a judge ruled against the ACC but left the injunction in place pending an appeal.  The ACC has since requested a new trial.

BPA is used in a variety of common consumer products, such as some hard plastic water bottles, thermal paper such as sales receipts, epoxy resins used to line the insides of food cans, and even CDs and DVDs.  Studies have shown that it can disrupt human egg development and that fetal exposure to BPA may result in prostate cancer later in life. The FDA has banned its use in baby formula packaging.

The Chanler Group represents citizen enforcers who, acting in the public interest, commence actions against businesses offering products for sale in California that contain chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm without first providing the health hazard warning required by Proposition 65. Citizen enforcers bringing Proposition 65 actions in the public interest may obtain a Court Judgment imposing civil penalties, an injunction requiring reformulation of products, and/or provision of health hazard warnings. The Chanler Group has represented citizen enforcers of Proposition 65 for more than twenty years.