Styrene Information & Research Center v. Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

Proposition 65, an initiative measure adopted by the voters in 1986, enacted the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 *1087 (hereafter Proposition 65) (Health & Saf. Code, § 25249.5 et seq.; further undesignated section references are to the Health and Safety Code). Proposition 65 requires the Governor to maintain a list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity. (§ 25249.8, subd. (a).) Once a chemical is placed on the list, businesses that manufacture, import or use such chemicals are subject to various restrictions. (See, e.g., §§ 25249.5, 25249.6.)

At a minimum, the Proposition 65 list must include substances identified by reference in Labor Code section 6382, subdivisions (b)(1) and (d). (§ 25249.8, subd. (a).) Labor Code section 6382, subdivision (d), identifies by reference “any substance within the scope of the federal Hazard Communication Standard (29 C.F.R. Sec. 1910.1200) . . . .” The Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) in turn identifies several sources “as establishing that a chemical is a carcinogen or potential carcinogen,” including “International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monographs (latest…