OEHHA Extends Comment Period on Intent to Add BPA to Prop. 65 List as Reproductive Toxin

At the request of several stakeholders, including GMA and the California
Chamber of Commerce, California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health
Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has extended the comment period on its notice
of intent to add bisphenol A (BPA) to the list of substances known to the state
to cause reproductive toxicity. Submissions must now be filed by March 27,
2013. Inclusion on the Proposition 65 (Prop. 65) list would mean that warnings
about BPA, which is used in water bottles and is present in epoxy resins used
to line food cans, would have to be provided to consumers. OEHHA planned
to rely on the authoritative bodies listing mechanism to add BPA to the list.

In a related development, the agency has also extended the comment period
for its proposal to establish a maximum allowable dose level (MADL) for BPA;
submissions are requested by April 10. The proposed MADL would be 290
micrograms per day. See OEHHA Press Release, February 21, 2013.