OEHHA Calls for Comments on Listing Styrene Under Prop. 65

California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)
has issued a notice of intent to list styrene as a chemical known to the state to
cause cancer under Proposition 65 (Prop. 65), citing the National Toxicology
Program’s (NTP’s) finding that styrene is “reasonably anticipated to be a
human carcinogen.” Comments are requested by February 4, 2013.

According to the notice, the proposed listing “meets the standard set out in the recent Court of Appeal decision in the Styrene Information and Research Council v. Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (3rd District, Nov. 15, 2012) case because the NTP conclusion is based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals.” Often used in food packaging materials, styrene occurs naturally at low levels in certain shrubs and trees. California consumers must be provided with warnings about those chemicals included on the Prop. 65 list. See OEHHA Notice of Intent, January 4, 2013.