California Prop. 65: TCE added as reproductive toxicant, new additions proposed.

California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has finalized the addition of trichloroethylene (TCE) to its Proposition 65 list of reproductive toxicants. OEHHA proposed the listing in November 2013, based on data and conclusions from U.S. EPA’s IRIS Assessment and report finding that TCE causes male reproductive and developmental toxicity in laboratory animals. TCE, which is used as an industrial solvent, was already listed under Prop. 65 as a carcinogen.

On February 7, OEHHA filed several Notices of Intent to List various substances as cancer-causing under Prop. 65. OEHHA proposed listing beta-myrcene and “nitrite in combination with amines or amides” as carcinogenic under the “authoritative bodies listing mechanism.” Beta-myrcene is a plant derivative used as a flavoring agent or fragrance in various consumer products, and is also synthesized as a high-production chemical for the manufacture of alcohols, polymers and other chemicals. The National Toxicology Program concluded in 2010 that beta-myrcene causes kidney and liver cancers in laboratory animals. Nitrites in combination with amines or amides are commonly found in food, and its proposed listing is based on a 2010 report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which found “sufficient evidence” of the substance’s carcinogenicity. OEHHA also proposed listing pulegone, a plant-derived compound, as carcinogenic under the Labor Code mechanism, which is based on the Federal Hazard Communication Standard and IARC’s identification of a substance as a human or animal carcinogen. Megestrol acetate was also proposed for listing as a carcinogen in accordance with requirements by the federal Food and Drug Administration.

In addition, OEHHA announced its intent to list the triazine-class herbicides atrazine, propazine, simazine and their chlorometabolites DACT, DEA and DIA as reproductive toxicants. The listing is proposed under the “authoritative bodies” mechanism, based on various EPA studies finding that the substances “cause developmental and reproductive effects through a common mechanism of toxic action.”

OEHHA is accepting public comments on all of the above proposed listings through March 10, 2014.