Last updated on August 31, 2024.

Proposition 65 warning label in English and Spanish, yellow triangle with exclamation point at left and orange Warning label on right above text.

Almost every time I see a Proposition 65 warning label on a product I’m considering purchasing, I don’t buy it. My spouse often asks, “Is it really a big deal?” I say, yes, it means the product has chemicals known in the State of California to cause cancer.

If they cause cancer in California, they cause cancer everywhere.

We’ve had friends over the years who had lived in California. When we asked about Proposition 65, they shrugged and indicated that California’s just ‘overly cautious.’ I quietly disagreed. I didn’t know enough to debate the matter. So I decided I’d learn about it.

Google terrain map screenshot of California and Nevada. — Courtesy of Google Maps.

“California tends to be the pioneer of protecting consumers from harmful chemicals in everyday products.” – Darin Olein, Fatal Conveniences¹

Cancer on the Rise

As I was writing this article, a new study came out indicating that Generation X and Millennials have a higher risk of getting certain types of cancer when compared to earlier generations. “Researchers from the American Cancer Society (ACS) studied 34 of the most common cancers. They found that cancer incidence rates continued to rise in progressively younger generations in 17 of the cancers, including breast, pancreatic, and gastric cancers.”²

While that study does not point to a cause, Generation X and Millenials have been exposed to far more chemicals than previous generations. We know many chemicals are linked to cancer,³ so overexposure to those chemicals is an obvious explanation.

Read on to learn how Proposition 65 warnings can help us.

Diamond shaped sign with skull and crossbones, "Poison", all black and white. — Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay.

What is Proposition 65?

It is a right-to-know law. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), which administers the Proposition 65 program, defines it as such: “Proposition 65, officially known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986…requires businesses to provide warnings to Californians about significant exposures to chemicals that cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.” These warnings can be in products, homes, workplaces, or the environment. It also protects the state’s drinking water sources from being contaminated with these chemicals.⁴

“A Proposition 65 warning is telling you that using a product or entering a location can expose you to a significant amount of a chemical that causes cancer, harmful effects on a developing baby, or other harmful effects on reproductive health.”⁵

What else does the legislation do?

Proposition 65 requires California to publish a list of these chemicals which must be updated annually. It includes over 1000 chemicals.⁶

For this list, California recognizes the International Agency for Research on Cancer (part of the World Health Organization), the U.S. National Toxicology Program, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as authorities on carcinogens. The State of California can also make its own determinations about specific substances. As the American Cancer Society notes, “This means that not every chemical on the list has been proven to the worldwide scientific community to actually cause cancer in people.”⁷

But, if certain chemicals are suspected of causing cancer in California, that’s good enough for me to avoid them.

The List

More than one thousand chemicals make a very long list. The Proposition 65 website has a page called “Fact Sheets” that lists chemical groups, rather than individual chemicals, making the risks easier to read and understand. However, it is not nearly as comprehensive so I recommend viewing both. I’ve linked them under Additional Resources below.

The list includes toxic substances such as lead, asbestos, and hexavalent chromium; industrial solvents; and toxins like carbon monoxide and tobacco smoke. It even includes BPA (Bisphenol A), a toxic substance used in plastic and metal can linings; as well as Styrene, used in many polystyrene take-out containers we incorrectly but commonly call Styrofoam.

White polystyrene container with food sitting open, against a white background. — Photo by Vitalis Arnoldus on Flickr, Creative commons license (CC BY 2.0).

Proposition 65 Labels

Product labels can be unclear as they only indicate if a product contains chemicals that may cause cancer or reproductive problems. They are required to list one specific chemical in the warning. However, they are not required to list every chemical, their amounts, or how a person may be exposed to them.

“By law, a warning must be given for listed chemicals unless exposure is low enough to pose no significant risk of cancer or is significantly below levels observed to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.”⁸

Products Sold in Other States

Products sold outside of California are not required to have a warning label even if they contain those toxic chemicals. “Some companies that sell products all over the United States only label those sent to California, even though all their products contain the same compounds.”⁹ Online sellers to all states must include warnings on their products, such as those listed on Walmart, Amazon, Lowe’s, and others.

Changes Brought by Proposition 65

Many sources don’t find the Proposition 65 warnings helpful, including Wirecutter, the consumer product review arm of The New York Times. I’ve often found their reviews and recommendations helpful because they independently test and review many products. But even they say Proposition 65 isn’t a big deal to worry about because the labels don’t indicate the amount or methods of exposure. However, they do acknowledge that the law has brought change to a variety of consumer products. “Prop 65 has resulted in changes in product formulation to remove or reduce potentially harmful chemicals, including in things like Wite-out and herbicides. Awareness raised by Prop 65 led Coke to change its use of 4-MEI, a potential carcinogen found in some caramel coloring.”¹⁰

The law has successfully raised awareness. Here are some of other the changes it has helped with:

“Proposition 65 has helped reduce or eliminate the use of lead in a wide variety of products, including hair dye, toothpaste, ceramic ware, foil caps on wine bottles, children’s jewelry, and even some types of cookies and candy. Levels…with acrylamide levels in major brands of potato chips and french fries. Proposition 65 has also led to the removal of several chemicals harmful to the developing baby during pregnancy from many nail care products, and has encouraged manufacturers of paint strippers to develop alternatives that do not contain methylene chloride or NMP.”¹¹

Controversy

Others argue that Proposition 65 is overly cautious, while others believe it is too broad and meaningless. In fact, on a lot of forums, many people completely disregard the warnings. Some say they are on ‘everything in California;’ others indicate that they just don’t think it’s a big deal. One person wrote, “California puts that on literally everything, they’re idiots.” On another forum where someone asked why a golf towel has a Proposition 65 warning, another responded: “We live in an age where it wouldn’t be out of place to put a warning sign on a water bottle saying ‘could cause drowning.’ Don’t think anything of it.”¹²

But do think something of it. That golf towel likely has formaldehyde or PFAS in it, which are toxic. Why are harmful chemicals allowed in our products? The reason is that the amount in each item is often limited, making small amounts in products seem acceptable.

But here’s the thing.

If these chemicals were just in our couches or clothes or shampoo, it would be limited exposure. But they are in EVERYTHING. These chemicals are in our food, make-up, skin care products, shampoo, soap, clothing, furniture, carpeting, vinyl flooring, mattresses, bedding, drinking water, household cleaning products, cookware, vehicles, pharmaceuticals, hair dye, take-out containers, drapery, building materials including windows and blinds, plastic food containers and packaging, camping tents, shower curtains, electrical items…etc. We are surrounded by these toxins in our homes, in our showers, in the workplace, and in our schools. If we encountered a single chemical occasionally, it likely would not pose a significant threat.

But we are constantly bombarded with these chemicals in every facet of our lives. We are inundated with these chemicals and cumulatively, it harms us. This raises our chances for reproductive and developmental problems, cancer, and other health issues such as rashes, headaches, and allergies. This is likely why cancer is on the rise.

Graphic illustration of a woman doing yoga, surrounded by bottles of a product, yoga mat, towel, plants, and cup of tea. — Image by Евгения from Pixabay.

Protecting Our Health

We are poisoning ourselves with these toxins. As consumers, we must avoid them whenever possible to protect our health. Let’s refuse to purchase items that contain these harmful chemicals. This collective action will drive companies to make necessary changes.

I hope this information helped! Please check out my next article about products with Proposition 65 warnings. Thank you for reading, please share and subscribe.

Additional Resources:

List, “Proposition 65 List of Carcinogens or Reproductive Toxicants,” Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), State of California, December 29, 2023.

“Fact Sheets,” Proposition 65 website.

Article, “Prop 65 was meant to protect residents from toxic water. How did warning stickers end up on everything?” Vox.com, updated October 31, 2019.

Footnotes:

Last updated on March 28, 2024.

Cover of Wild Sea book

Published in 2011, author Serge Dedina writes about corporations’ attempts at destruction along the US and Mexican Baja California coastlines. These types of endeavors happen regularly and indicate how greed and human selfishness challenge natural ecosystems and environmental protections.

Dedina grew up surfing in Southern and Baja California and holds a doctorate in geography. He is the co-founder and executive director of Wildcoast, an international nonprofit that combines environmental issues with cultural values to protect coastal areas and marine ecosystems. I’ve featured just a few of his stories from this book.

Image of a gray whale breaching — Gray whale breaching. Image by Eric Neitzel on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

Natural Resources

Dedina began the international campaign against Exportadora de Sal’s proposal to develop the world’s largest salt production facility. This company, jointly owned by the Mitsubishi Corporation and the Mexican government, would have built its facility adjacent to San Ignacio Lagoon. This is the world’s last undeveloped gray whale birthing lagoon. This project would have destroyed more than 500,000 acres in the reserve and prevented gray whale breeding and calving. Fortunately, the Mexican president canceled it in 2000 as a result of the campaign against it. Today, Wildcoast exhibits its progress with gray whale protection on its website.

Google map screenshot of Baja California with the San Ignacio Lagoon indicated with a red marker. — Google map screenshot of Baja California with San Ignacio Lagoon indicated.

Gray whale in San Ignacio lagoon — Gray whale in San Ignacio Lagoon. Photo by Ryan Harvey on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY-SA 2.0).

“From 2001 to 2008, as a result of the explosion of energy development and hotel, condo, and housing construction in the United States, the landscape of coastal protection suddenly changed: for activists to keep pace with development threats to the coast became almost impossible.” -Serge Dedina

Energy Production

In the early 2000s, Dedina worked against the proposals of Shell, Chevron-Texaco, Sempra, BHP Billiton, and Marathon Oil to build a network of eleven liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals between Tijuana and Ensenada. They were supported by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the George W. Bush administration. The biggest threat was Chevron-Texaco’s plan to build its $700 million plant adjacent to the Coronado Islands, which are home to elephant seals and the threatened sea bird, Xantus’s murrelet.

Google map screenshot showing the short distance between Tijuana and Ensenada; Coronado Islands on the left.

In 2007, Chevron-Texaco announced that it was abandoning the project in the Coronado Islands. By 2009, all but 3 of the LNG projects had been abandoned. Costa Azul LNG opened in 2008, located 15 miles north of Ensenada, and was the first LNG terminal on the North American west coast. Sempra LNG and IEnova announced in March 2020 that they plan to add liquefaction facilities to the existing Costa Azul terminal. Environmental and conservation issues continue as many LNG’s exist all over the world, many of them on or near coastlines.

Image of northern elephant seals — Northern elephant seals by Elaine Calvert on Flickr, Creative Commons license 2.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

“The U.S.-Mexico border can no longer be a no-man’s-land that provides refuge for corporations seeking to escape U.S. environmental laws and elected officials seeking to blame Mexican migrants for our nation’s problems.” -Serge Dedina

Image of a Xantus's Murrelet swimming in greensih water. — A Xantus’s Murrelet by Stonebird on Flickr, Creative Commons license 2.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

Human Recreation

In 1999, the City of San Diego proposed dredging a tiny beach in La Jolla called Casa Beach “to rid the area of a small population of what were supposed to be federally protected harbor seals.” La Jolla is an upscale suburb of San Diego. A small group of its influential and wealthy residents were also irrational, anti-wildlife activists who wanted the seals removed so that humans would have more recreational beach areas. This plan would have violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act enacted by President Nixon in 1972.

Image of a harbor seal in La Jolla, California — Harbor seal in La Jolla, California. Image by Amy the Nurse on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

The legal and political dispute over the seal rookery and these beautiful animals inhabiting Casa Beach has continued through the last decade (view the timeline linked under Additional Resources below). Fortunately, beach access is not allowed during harbor seal pupping season, December 15 through May 15.

Unfortunately, humans are sometimes selfish and some continue to disturb the harbor seals. Often this is in the form of photographing people with the animals, a form of wildlife tourism. Other times, the seals are taunted,⁹ teased,¹¹ and even physically harmed.¹³

Remember, wildlife viewing is ok from a distance. Give animals plenty of space between you and them so they do not feel threatened and alter their normal activities because of you. Even photography with animals can be harmful and disturbing. Please teach your children this too!

“Conserving marine mammal populations in densely populated urban coastal areas in Southern California is a national test case for our ability to protect coastal and marine ecosystems and the wildlife they harbor.” -Serge Dedina

Many Other Movements

Problems persist with the human quest to exploit natural resources, threatening coastal and marine areas. Dedina worked against a botched sewage treatment facility scheme in Tijuana; a desalination project in Southern California; and the destruction of protected marine areas. Additional projects include LNGs, oil drilling, pipeline installation, border and security wall construction proposals, and human recreation.

“A new generation of pirates has emerged in coastal Southern California. They are bureaucrats, union officials, corporate lobbyists, CEOs, oil company barons, and elected officials who view the natural coastline and ocean of California as an area to be plundered rather than preserved. They do their best to rid Southern California of the shoreline that makes the coast the oxygen that fuels the state’s vibrant culture and economy.” -Serge Dedina

Solutions

Dedina and Wildcoast continue their work to conserve coastal and marine ecosystems. The organization works with local communities to stop poaching, promote conservation, and protect resources. They work to develop systems of marine protected areas, also called MPAs, which help preserve natural coastal and marine ecosystems. You can read more about these on Wildcoast’s website.

There are many ways we can all help! When traveling, educate yourself on the local nature and wildlife protections in place. Clean up trash, track wildlife and fauna through a local group, or lobby for clean air. Teach others about climate change, pollution, endangered species, or any of the important topics surrounding safeguarding our beautiful planet.

I really enjoyed this book and found it worth reviewing. Thanks for reading today, and please subscribe!

Additional Resource:

Timeline, “Timeline of Major Events Affecting the La Jolla Seals,” sealconservancy.org, accessed July 17, 2020.