PROPOSITION
65
SAFE DRINKING WATER AND TOXIC
ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 1986
1986
Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 was passed as a
voter initiative to address citizen concerns about exposure to
substances which cause cancer or reproductive toxicity. Law prohibits
businesses from discharging such chemicals into sources of drinking
water, and requires that warnings be given to individuals exposed to
them.
Violation
Past violations of the warning requirements are subject to assessment of
civil penalties up to $2,500 per exposure. Injunctions may be obtained
to prevent threatened or occurring violations of the Act. Public and
private prosecutors often seek to simultaneously enforce the Act under
the state's Unfair Compensation Statute. That law allows public
prosecutors to obtain an additional penalty of $2,500 per violation, and
allows any enforcer to obtain restitution against the alleged violator.
KEY ISSUES
Agriculture Issue has now
spread to pesticides and fertilizers. Potential impact may include Prop
65 notification at the supermarket or retail store.
Impact on Cotton Industry
Several pesticides have been listed under Proposition 65 or are being
reviewed for potential listing. These include several chemicals used on
cotton, including the following:
Prop 65
Already Listed |
Under
Consideration |
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Bladex |
Admire |
Buctril |
Ambush |
Comite |
Baytan |
Fusilade |
Ginstar |
Metasystox |
Goal |
Ovasyn |
Kelthane |
Quick Pick |
Prowl |
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Regent |
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Vapam |
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Zephyr |
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California Health &
Safety Code, Section 25249.6
Required Warning Before Exposure to Chemicals Known to Cause Cancer
or Reproductive Toxicity.
No person in the course of
doing business shall knowingly and intentionally expose any individual to
a chemical known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity
without first giving clear and reasonable warning to such individual,
except as provided in Section 25249.10.
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