Change to Cadmium Prop. 65 Maximum Allowable Dose Level Proposed

California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has issued a notice indicating that it has proposed adding the qualifier “oral” to the maximum allowable dose level (MADL) for cadmium. Apparently, this qualifier was inadvertently omitted when the MADL of 4.1 micrograms per day was adopted under Proposition 65 (Prop. 65) in 2002. Comments must be submitted no later than August 23, 2010. Cadmium has apparently been used as a plasticizer, and some studies have indicated that it can be transferred to food by its use in fertilizer.