CALIFORNIA: Expanded Prop 65 list includes wood dust

Four more substances, including wood dust, have been added to California’s official list of carcinogens and reproductive toxicants under Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. On December 18, 2009, the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment announced that it was adding wood dust and zidovudine (AZT) to the list as substances that can cause cancer, and adding tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME) and ethyl-tert-butyl ether (EBTE) as substances that can cause birth defects.  Businesses must provide warnings whenever workers or the public are exposed to substances on the Proposition 65 list. An example warning is available on our website.