There's a little loophole in Prop 65 for smaller companies and smaller containers. Like many companies and manufacturers, Prop 65 doesn't apply to us. That's the law, like it or not. Why do we use a Prop 65 Warning when we don't have to? Since our friends, families and neighbors use our paint and we all share the same air and water, we don't think a loophole should keep us from being an honest company. It's not our goal to poison the earth for profit.

Prop 65 is a well-intentioned piece of legislation. Its purpose is to increase public awareness about the potentially dangerous ingredients you may not realize are in the products you buy, including paint. The more we all know, the better.

It doesn't mean all the chemicals on the list pose a health risk when the chemical or compound is made as part of a product and not in its natural chemical compound state. Titanium Dioxide, for example, is found in food, cosmetics, pills, paper, sunscreen, and many more everyday items. However, some TiO2 appears on the Prop 65 list when unbound in respirable particulate form (dry pigment). As an ingredient in our paint, it's considered safe. Most paint companies list Titanium Dioxide on their SDS with the description: "No significant exposure to titanium dioxide is thought to occur during the use of products in which titanium dioxide is bound to other materials, such as paint".

According to the American Cancer Society, not all chemicals included on the Prop 65 list have been proven by the worldwide scientific community to cause cancer. And, based on our own research, some of the chemicals on the list may cause cancer if inhaled or ingested, but have not been proven to pose a risk when the chemical or compound is made as part of a product and not in its natural chemical compound state. The same goes for chemicals we list that are in the manganese drier we add to help with cure times. 2-ethoxyethanol and 2-methoxyethanol are Prop 65 chemicals, so we list them. The International Agency for Reasearch on Cancer (IARC) lists our manganese drier as "No ingredient of this product present at levels greater than or equal to 0.1% is identified as probable, possible or confirmed human carcinogen by IARC." In our paint the max concentration amounts for 2-ethoxyethanol and 2-methoxyethanol is 0.05% and 0.012 % respectively. When these minute amounts are bound in a paint matrix, exposure potential becomes insignificant with proper use and handling.

Proposition 65, officially known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, was enacted as a ballot initiative in November, 1986. The Proposition protects the state's drinking water sources from being contaminated with chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm, and requires businesses to inform Californians about exposures to such chemicals.

Prop 65 chemicals and their respective “safe use” thresholds are only recognized in California; not by any other federal or international regulatory body. 

These chemicals can be in the products that Californians purchase, in their homes or workplaces, or that are released into the environment. By requiring that this information be provided, Proposition 65 enables Californians to make informed decisions about their exposures to these chemicals.

Proposition 65 also prohibits California businesses from knowingly discharging significant amounts of listed chemicals into sources of drinking water.

The list contains a wide range of naturally occurring and synthetic chemicals that include additives or ingredients in pesticides, common household products, food, drugs, dyes, or solvents. Listed chemicals may also be used in manufacturing and construction, or they may be byproducts of chemical processes, such as motor vehicle exhaust.

These Heron Paint ingredients require the Prop 65 warning:

• Nickel Antimony Titanium Yellow Rutile CAS # 8007-18-9
• 2-ethoxyethanol
• 2-methoxyethanol
• Quartz (crystalline silica)(airborne particles of respirable size)

Where can I learn more?

If you have more questions about Prop 65, you can read more on the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment website at https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65.

February 25, 2022 List of P65 chemicals in a pdf