From the OEHHA:

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) of the California Environmental Protection Agency is adding gallium arsenide to the list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer and hexafluoroacetone, nitrous oxide and vinyl cyclohexene dioxide to the list of chemicals known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity for the purposes of Proposition 65. The listing of gallium arsenide, hexafluoroacetone, nitrous oxide and vinyl cyclohexene dioxide is effective August 1, 2008…

Cancer:

Gallium arsenide - CAS No. 1303-00-0

Reproductive Toxicity:

Hexafluoroacetone - CAS No. 684-16-2 - Male reproductive toxicity

Nitrous oxide - CAS No. 10024-97-2 - Developmental toxicity

Vinyl cyclohexene dioxide - CAS No. 106-87-6 - Female and male reproductive toxicity

Click on the above link for more information.

From the OEHHA:

On June 27, 2008, OEHHA published a notice in the California Regulatory Notice Register (Register 08, No. 26-Z) announcing its intent to list molinate under Proposition 65 as a chemical known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity in accordance with the regulatory criteria in section 25306 of Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations (formerly section 12306 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.) The publication of the notice initiated a 30‑day public comment period which would have closed on July 28, 2008. OEHHA has received requests from interested parties seeking an extension of the comment period to allow for the submission of complete and relevant scientific information. OEHHA hereby extends the public comment period for molinate for 45 days to 5 p.m., Wednesday, August 27, 2008.

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From the OEHHA:

On June 27, 2008, OEHHA published two separate notices in the California Regulatory Notice Register (Register 08 No. 26-Z) soliciting information which may be relevant to the evaluation of imazalil and thiabendazole and its hypophosphite salt under consideration for possible listing within the context of the Proposition 65 administrative listing regulatory criteria in Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations section 25306 (formerly Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations section 12306.)

The publication of the notices initiated 60‑day public comment periods which would have closed on August 26, 2008. OEHHA has received requests from interested parties seeking an extension of each comment period to allow for the submission of complete and relevant scientific information for both imazalil and thiabendazole and its hypophosphite salt. OEHHA hereby extends the public comment periods for imazalil and thiabendazole and its hypophosphite salt for 45 days to 5 p.m., Wednesday, October 8, 2008.

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From the OEHHA:

On June 27, 2008, OEHHA published a notice in the California Regulatory Notice Register (Register 08, No. 26-Z) announcing its intent to list avermectin B1 under Proposition 65 as a chemical known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity in accordance with the regulatory criteria in section 25306 of Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations (formerly section 12306 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.) The publication of the notice initiated a 30‑day public comment period which would have closed on July 28, 2008. OEHHA has received requests from interested parties seeking an extension of the comment period to allow for the submission of complete and relevant scientific information. OEHHA hereby extends the public comment period for avermectin B1 for 60 days to 5 p.m., Friday, September 26, 2008.

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From the San Francisco Chronicle:

The state’s largest school bus operator has agreed to renovate more than 2,000 buses in California to run cleaner, settling a lawsuit that accused it of exposing children to diesel exhaust in leaky passenger cabins.

The settlement was announced Wednesday by Laidlaw Transit and three environmental groups that sued the company in 2006. Without admitting any wrongdoing, Laidlaw agreed to spend $4.7 million over five years to retrofit buses that are more than five years old, and $23.6 million more to continue renovating those buses or buy new ones.

The company will also pay $6.6 million to the environmental groups and their lawyers. A San Francisco Superior Court judge is scheduled to consider the settlement next month.

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From the OEHHA:

As the lead agency for the implementation of Proposition 65, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) within the California Environmental Protection Agency intends to list the chemical, oryzalin (CAS No. 19044-88-3) as known to the State to cause cancer, pursuant to this administrative mechanism as provided in Health and Safety Code section 25249.8(b) and Title 27, Cal. Code of Regs., section 25306 (formally Title 22, Cal. Code of Regs., section 12306).

Relevant information related to the possible listing of oryzalin was requested in a notice published in the California Regulatory Notice Register on April 11, 2008 (Register 2008, No. 15 Z). No public comments were received.

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From SFGate:

Besides Frito-Lay, which sells most of the potato chips in California, the other companies agreeing to reduce acrylamide levels are Kettle Foods, maker of Kettle Chips, and Lance Inc., maker of Cape Cod Chips, Brown’s office said. In another settlement last week, Heinz agreed to cut in half the acrylamide levels in Ore-Ida frozen french fries and tater tots and pay $600,000 in penalties and costs, the state said…

Procter & Gamble agreed in January to reduce acrylamide by 50 percent in Pringles potato chips. McDonald’s, KFC, Wendy’s and Burger King agreed last year to post warnings about acrylamide in chips and fries…

The settlement requires the potato chip producers to reduce acrylamide to 275 parts per billion in three years, a low enough level to avoid a Prop. 65 warning label. That amounts to a 20 percent reduction for Frito-Lay and an 87 percent reduction for Kettle Chips, Brown’s office said. Little or no reduction will be needed for most Cape Cod chips, but one product, Cape Cod Robust Russets, will require a warning label, the attorney general said.

The companies also agreed to pay nearly $2 million in penalties and costs.

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From the Las Vegas Sun:

Poker chips manufactured by a Las Vegas company will be the focus of notices at 21 California card clubs starting Nov. 1 — and not for promotional purposes.

Signs will inform customers that casino chips on the premises contain lead, a metal known to cause cancer, birth defects and other health problems.

The notices, and a requirement that the chips in question contain no more than .005 percent lead, settle a lawsuit filed last year by a nonprofit watchdog group in California against Gaming Partners International, which makes most of the gaming chips used in casinos worldwide, including Paulson chips in Nevada casinos.

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Four more releases from the OEHHA. The first two are notices of intent to list chemicals. First, Avermectin:

As the lead agency for the implementation of Proposition 65, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), within the California Environmental Protection Agency, intends to list avermectin B1 (CAS No. 71751-41-2), as identified in the table below, as known to the State to cause reproductive toxicity, pursuant to the administrative mechanism. This chemical has been determined by OEHHA to meet the criteria set forth in Section 12306 for such listing under the authoritative bodies mechanism.

Second: Molinate:

As the lead agency for the implementation of Proposition 65, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), within the California Environmental Protection Agency, intends to list molinate (CAS No. 2212-67-1), as identified in the table below, as known to the State to cause reproductive toxicity, pursuant to the administrative mechanism. This chemical has been determined by OEHHA to meet the criteria set forth in Section 12306 for such listing under the authoritative bodies mechanism.

Next, two requests for relevant information. The first of those two is for Imazalil:

Imazalil (CAS No. 35554-44-0) has previously been the subject of a request for relevant information pertaining to consideration for listing as known to cause reproductive toxicity under Proposition 65 (California Regulatory Notice Register 98, No. 52-Z). This chemical was under consideration for listing based on possible formal identification as causing reproductive toxicity by the U.S. EPA. OEHHA did not proceed with listing this chemical on the basis of the documents identified in the prior notices. More recent documents identified below appear to provide the basis for listing imazalil as causing cancer and as causing reproductive toxicity under Proposition 65.

The second of the two is for Thiabendazole:

Thiabendazole (CAS No. 148-79-8 . CAS No. for Thiabendazole hypophosphite salt is 28558-32-9) has previously been the subject of a request for relevant information pertaining to consideration for listing as known to cause reproductive toxicity under Proposition 65 (California Regulatory Notice Register; October 9, 1998, Register 98, No. 41-Z). This chemical was under consideration for listing based on possible formal identification as causing reproductive toxicity by the U.S. EPA. OEHHA did not proceed with listing this chemical on the basis of the documents identified in the prior notices. More recent documents identified below appear to provide the basis for listing thiabendazole and thiabendazole hypophosphite salt under Proposition 65.

For more information, click on the links.

Four newly added chemicals to California’s Prop 65 list. From the release:

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) within the California Environmental Protection Agency is adding benthiavalicarb-isopropyl (CAS No. 177406-68-7), mepanipyrim (CAS No. 110235-47-7), pirimicarb (CAS No. 23103-98-2) and resmethrin (CAS No. 10453-86-8) to the list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer for purposes of the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Health and Safety Code section 25249.5 et seq., commonly known as Proposition 65). The listing date of the four chemicals is effective July 1, 2008.

Benthiavalicarb-isopropyl (CAS No. 177406-68-7), mepanipyrim (CAS No. 110235-47-7), pirimicarb (CAS No. 23103-98-2) and resmethrin (CAS No. 10453-86-8) are being listed as chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer. The listing of the four chemicals is based on formal identification by an authoritative body (i.e., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA)), that the chemicals cause cancer. The criteria used by OEHHA for the listing of chemicals under the “authoritative bodies” mechanism can be found in Title 22, Cal. Code of Regs., section 12306.

Click on the above link for the full article.