California Lists BPA as Reproductive Toxicant Under Prop. 65

California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)
has added bisphenol A (BPA) to the “list of chemicals known to the State to
cause reproductive toxicity for purposes of Proposition 65” (Prop. 65). The
listing, which will require warnings to consumers, took effect April 11, 2013.
Failure to provide the warnings can result in significant financial penalties,
and alleged violations can be enforced by private citizens.

OEHHA based its determination on a National Toxicology Program report which concluded that the chemical “causes reproductive toxicity (developmental endpoint) at high doses.” BPA is commonly found in cash register receipts, CDs and DVDs, and food packaging material, including plastic containers and bottles, and metal cans and lids.

When OEHHA proposed listing the chemical, it also proposed adopting a
maximum allowable dose level (MADL) of 290 micrograms per day. Additional
information about the MADL proposal appears in Issue 468 of this Update.
When this Update was prepared, the agency had not yet indicated whether or
when it would finalize the MADL. Details about the history of BPA’s use in the
United States and the Food and Drug Administration’s refusal to prohibit the
use of BPA in food packaging are addressed in Issue 433 of this Update. See
OEHHA News Release, April 11, 2013.