Prop 65 BPA warning

When a Prop 65 warning for bisphenol A (BPA) may be needed, and what the safe-harbor wording looks like

Direct answer. A Prop 65 warning for bisphenol A (BPA) may be needed when a business knowingly and intentionally exposes a person to that listed chemical and no exemption in the statute applies. OEHHA’s Bisphenol A (BPA) page lists it for reproductive toxicity: developmental toxicity (date of listing 12/18/2020) and female reproductive toxicity (date of listing 05/11/2015). The same page says cancer was considered, but not listed. It publishes a maximum allowable dose level (MADL) of 3µg/day (dermal exposure from solid materials). For any other route or medium, see OEHHA. The safe-harbor consumer-product wording is in 27 CCR §§ 25601–25603. Because the listing is reproductive toxicity, the long-form sentence in OEHHA’s final regulatory text for § 25603 is the reproductive-toxicant shape: “This product can expose you to chemicals including [name of one or more chemicals], which is [are] known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.” The brackets are the regulation’s placeholders. This page does not decide that any product needs a warning. It is not legal advice.

Prop 65 Warning Manager (Shopify App Store · Write a review) displays California Prop 65 warnings on product pages and keeps an audit trail of warning edits, assignments, and storefront activation events. The listing says every warning needs merchant approval before it goes live. This page is the BPA listing and safe-harbor wording reading aid — not a determination for any SKU.

Related: CLPLens — Hazard pictograms on the product page, not only the parcel.

Free check first: Prop 65 warning question check runs in your browser and sends nothing. Describe a product and see which list names and 27 CCR warning rules to read.

Checklist before you treat BPA as in or out of a warning

What OEHHA’s BPA page lists

OEHHA’s Bisphenol A (BPA) page, as read for this guide, shows:

The same page’s note says BPA was originally listed on 11 April 2013 for developmental toxicity, then delisted pending a court case; re-listed on 11 May 2015 for female reproductive toxicity; and the developmental endpoint was reinstated on 18 December 2020. Confirm those sentences on the live page. The MADL above is copied as that page prints it, including the dermal-exposure qualifier. This page does not reprint a number for oral exposure, inhalation, or food. See OEHHA.

OEHHA’s BPA fact sheet on P65Warnings.ca.gov says BPA is on the Proposition 65 list because it can harm the female reproductive system and may harm the developing baby. That fact sheet names exposure sources that include polycarbonate plastic items, some thermal paper used for receipts, and some linings in metal food and drink cans, jar lids, and bottle caps. A separate sheet, Bisphenol A (BPA) in Canned and Bottled Food and Drinks, is about those linings. Those are contexts the warnings site names. They are not a finding that a particular SKU needs a warning.

Safe-harbor wording in §§ 25601–25603

Section 25601 is the clear-and-reasonable frame for this subarticle. Section 25602 is the method of transmission. Section 25603 is the content. OEHHA’s final regulatory text for the long-form consumer-product warning includes the warning symbol, the word “WARNING:” or the words “CA WARNING:” or “CALIFORNIA WARNING:”, and an endpoint sentence that names one or more listed chemicals. For a reproductive toxicant, that sentence is the one quoted in the direct answer. Where the warning is for a single chemical, the same text lets you drop the words “chemicals including”. The listed name on the OEHHA page is Bisphenol A (BPA). The cancer sentence is not the BPA endpoint, because that page says cancer was considered but not listed.

Short-form content, type size, and the dates in the final text are the short-form warning. Lead is a different listing, with a different name and different safe-harbor levels: Prop 65 lead warning. Food short-form content is a further section, walked on Prop 65 food short-form on Shopify.

For internet purchases and catalog purchases, § 25602 requires the warning before the purchase is completed. Read the method on Prop 65 warning examples. This page does not restate that method.

What this page is not

Related pages

Not legal advice. Confirm the OEHHA BPA page, Health and Safety Code §§ 25249.6 and 25249.10, and 27 CCR §§ 25601–25603 before you treat a BPA exposure as in or out of a warning. The app displays warning content you approve.