Plaintiff Groups Launch Assault on Furniture Manufacturers Over Tris— by Roger Pearson at Prop65 Clearinghouse

Posted: 06/03/2013  browse the blog archive

Excerpted from full article at Prop 65 Clearinghouse:

Tris itself was listed as a Prop. 65 carcinogen in October of 2011 over the objections of the chemical industry. The warning requirement for products containing Tris became effective in October of last year. OEHHA subsequently established a safe harbor level (No Significant Risk Level) for Tris exposure of 5.4 micrograms per day on October 9, 2012 [see OEHHA Proposes NSRL for TDCPP, July 2, 2012].

The Chanler Group, on behalf of its Prop. 65 clients, immediately began testing furniture after the October 2011 listing. Although furniture industry representatives warned members of the likelihood of upcoming Prop. 65 enforcement actions, the laboratory hired by the Chanler Group confirmed the presence of Tris in numerous furniture products after the effective date of the warning requirement. The initial set of eight 60-day intent-to-sue notices targeting Tris were sent out last year.

The number of these notices has dramatically escalated in 2013 with the Attorney General's office stating that there have been 178 such notices sent as of April 19. The vast majority of these notices have been issued by The Chanler Group attorneys on behalf of plaintiffs, Laurence Vinocur, Peter Englander, and John Moore (search Prop. 65 Clearinghouse Case database for complete list of cases). link to source