Titanium dioxide was added to the list of Proposition 65 chemicals in September 2011, and warning requirements took effect in September 2012. The addition of titanium dioxide (airborne, unbound particles of respirable size) to the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)’s list of chemicals subject to regulation under Proposition 65 has caused professional Prop 65 plaintiffs to send out a number of “Notices of Violation” to manufacturers and distributors in the personal care products industry. They do this because the law requires that a Notice of Violation be served before a private party may commence a Prop 65 lawsuit.
Prop 65 plaintiffs – motivated by the potential to recover civil penalties and attorney’s fees – have seized on the new listing to go after numerous companies, including those in the beauty products business, for failing to provide a warning that titanium dioxide is known to the State of California to cause cancer. Often, such Prop 65 Notices of Violation are motivated more by a desire for a quick settlement than for a long dispute.
Since its listing, titanium dioxide has been the subject of four Notice of Violations – two by the Center for Environmental Health, and two by the Public Interest Alliance. The Center for Environmental Health is a well known Prop 65 plaintiff represented by Mark N. Todzo of Lexington Law Group in San Francisco. Its Notices of Violation with respect to titanium dioxide have attacked manufacturers and distributors of spray-on sunscreens.
The Public Interest Alliance is new to the group of Prop 65 plaintiffs and is represented by Jeffrey M. Judd of Judd Law Group in San Francisco. It has only sent out two Notices of Violation since it appeared on the Prop 65 scene, but both have been over titanium dioxide, and the two Notices combined attack more than 100 companies.
Manufacturers and distributors of personal care products should carefully review the contents of products that may contain titanium dioxide. CK&E has helped clients with personal care products businesses understand and comply with the requirements of Prop 65, to avoid being one of those who receive a Notice of Violation. If a Notice of Violation is received, CK&E works aggressively to help clients resolve the claims as quickly and economically as possible, without being held captive to the bounty hunters’ demands.
JUL