Prop 65 California

Jakks Pacific has provided certification to Russell Brimer and Peter Englander, clients of The Chanler Group, stating that its padded children’s chairs offered for sale in California have been reformulated in advance of the deadline imposed by the settlement agreement between the parties.  The settlement was for a total of $58,000, but Brimer and Englander agreed to waive a portion of it should Jakks Pacific accelerate the reformulation of its products to no longer contain the toxic flame retardants Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCPP), Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), and Tris(2,3-dibromopropyl)phosphate (TDBPP).

Jakks Pacific is a leading designer and marketer of toys and consumer products.  Jakks Pacific sells action figures, electronics, dolls, Halloween costumes, children’s furniture, art activity kits, and infant products.  The Chanler Group’s clients alleged that Jakks Pacific offered children’s chairs containing TDCPP for sale without the required health hazard warning.  Brimer served Jakks Pacific with a 60-Day Notice of Violation of Proposition 65 on February 15, 2013. 

The Chanler Group’s clients frequently include such “reformulation incentives” in their settlements as part of their commitment to effectuate change for safer consumer products.

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.

According to a study conducted by the University of California San Francisco, the levels of banned phthalates in people’s bodies have decreased; however, similar and potentially toxic compounds are appearing in their place.  The findings were published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. 

Phthalates are chemical compounds that are used to soften plastic and vinyl, and make them more pliable.  They can be found in plastic pouches, packaging, medical devices, clothing and apparel, and even bandages.  Some of them—di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP)—have been banned from children’s toys.

The study found that levels of DEHP, DBP and BBP in the subjects studied have declined over the last ten years, while levels of other, newer phthalate chemicals—diisononyl phthalate (DINP), diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP), and di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP)—have increased, with DINP levels rising by nearly 150 percent.  DINP was recently designated a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer, meaning that products sold in California that contain DINP will soon need to be accompanied by a health hazard warning.

Ruthann Rudel, the research director at the Silent Spring Institute in Massachusetts, stated that regulators should take lessons from the fact that exposures to new less-studied phthalates have simply replaced exposures to well-known phthalates.  “We put things out there, start using them in products, then we get concerns, then we substitute something else we don’t know anything about,” she said to the San Francisco Chronicle.  “We’ve got to come up with some sort of standard for safety in commercial chemicals…and then work with the chemicals that meet that standard.”

The Chemical Safety Improvement Act will hopefully update the Toxic Substances Control Act to do just that.

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.

What is Lead?

Lead is number 82 in the periodic table and is classified as a "heavy metal."  In its pure form, it is soft and malleable.  It is a shiny silver-white when recently cut or melted but quickly turns dark gray after being exposed to air.

For thousands of years, lead was used in a variety of applications--pipes, paints, weights, alchemy, decorative objects, and cookware, just to name a few--because it was widespread and easy to work with, and occurred as a byproduct of smelting the rarer and more valuable silver and copper.  It may have given ancient people a host of health problems!  Today, it is still used in lead-acid batteries, bullets and shot, solders, and as a radiation shield.

How Lead Affects the Body

Lead can be swallowed, absorbed through the skin (dermal absorption), or inhaled, with the same negative effects on the body.  Health effects from short-term overexposure (acute lead toxicity) include abdominal pain, constipation, tiredness, headaches, irritability, loss of appetite, memory loss, weakness, and pain and/or tingling in the hands and feet.  The effects of long-term overexposure (chronic lead toxicity) include impotence, depression, forgetfulness, irritability, and nausea.  Continued exposure can result in anemia, kidney and brain damage, and even death.

Babies and children in particular are very vulnerable to the effects of lead, due to their smaller body masses and still-developing bodies.  Lead can cross the placental barrier, meaning that pregnant women who are exposed to lead also expose their unborn child(ren).  Damage to the fetus' developing nervous system can lead to decreased IQ, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and/or hearing impairment when the child is born and continuing into adulthood.  Small children, who are prone to mouthing anything within reach and placing small objects in their mouths, are more at risk for exposure to lead, and very tiny amounts can cause permanent neurological and developmental problems.

Where Lead Shows Up

Lead was once regularly added to paint to improve its color, texture, and lifespan.  The federal government banned it from use in homes in 1978, but any houses built before then likely still contain some lead paint.  Care should be taken when renovating older houses and the resident should be alert for chipping or flaking paint.  Lead is not prohibited in paint on commercial buildings. 

Some painted glass or ceramics may contain lead.  If properly glazed and/or fired the piece should be quite safe, but if the glaze becomes damaged or the piece was improperly fired, then the lead may migrate onto other surfaces.  The Chanler Group's clients identified a great number of glass and ceramics with painted decorated exteriors that contained lead and worked hard to achieve reformulation across almost the entire industry.

Lead is used in ammunition (bullets and shot), batteries, and radiation shields, such as the ones doctors give patients to wear when they're taking x-rays.  It is also used in machine parts, solder, and many types of art paints.  People who work in occupations such as auto repair, painting, construction, and of course lead refineries and the like are therefore at higher risk for lead exposure and should take precautions.

Lead is used as a stabilizer in PVC, aka vinyl, which is used in hundreds of common consumer products, such as bags, toys, shoes, rain gear, inflatables, and product packaging.  The Chanler Group's clients have found lead in lightbulbs, jumper cables, belts, hand tools, paper clips, and more.  The PVC industry intends to discontinue the use of lead stabilizers by 2015.

How to Avoid Lead

If you're a California resident, look for a Proposition 65 warning.  Manufacturers and retailers selling products in California must include a warning if their products contain lead, which is known to the State of California to cause cancer and reproductive harm. 

You can also lower your risk of exposure to lead by avoiding vinyl products (carry an unlined cotton or nylon bag; buy curtains or bamboo blinds; use tools with wooden or hard plastic grips), glass or ceramics with painted decorations, and objects made from pewter or tin, which often contain lead.  Wash hands frequently.  Check websites such as saferproducts.gov to see if there have been any recent recalls or reports of lead in products.

The Chanler Group represents citizen enforcers who, acting in the public interest,  enforce each citizen’s right to know when they are exposed to toxic chemicals found in consumer products sold in California and who hold companies accountable for unwarned exposures through imposition of civil penalties and injunctive relief, often requiring the removal of the offensive chemicals. Clients of The Chanler Group have issued dozens of Proposition 65 notices to manufacturers and retailers regarding the presence of toxic chemicals in their products that are sold in California without a warning.

Earlier this week, a federal judge ordered paint companies Sherwin-Williams, ConAgra, and NL Industries to pay the State of California $1.15 billion to remove lead paint from the interior surfaces of pre-1978 homes in 10 California cities and counties, the Los Angeles Times reported.  The money will go into a fund administered by California’s Department of Public Health Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch and will pay for inspections and lead abatement on the inside walls of tens of thousands of older homes, many of which are in low-income neighborhoods.

Lead is a toxic heavy metal known to cause cancer, reproductive harm, and developmental harm. The leading causes of childhood lead poisoning are lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust.  Lead paint was banned for use in housing in 1978, but homes built before then that have not been renovated are still likely to contain lead paint.  As the paint deteriorates it cracks and flakes, and children may place their hands or mouths on flaking window sills, ingest lead-contaminated household dust, or even consume paint chips, leading to lead poisoning.

The judge awarded damages to Santa Clara, Alameda, Los Angeles, Monterey, San Mateo, Solano, and Ventura Counties, and to the cities of Oakland, San Diego, and San Francisco.

The paint manufacturers will appeal the decision.

Lead is known to the State of California to cause cancer and reproductive harm, and under Proposition 65 companies offering products for sale in California that contain lead must provide consumers with a health hazard warning.  That means lead-based paint for sale in California must be accompanied by a warning to consumers that the product contains lead.  The Chanler Group’s citizen enforcer clients have identified the presence of lead in many consumer products and brought enforcement actions seeking reformulation of the products to eliminate the presence of of lead in products, such tableware and decorated soda bottles.

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.