I am an importer of tableware/ceramicware/porcelain. What do I need to do to comply with Proposition 65?

Proposition 65 imposes a warning requirement if exposures to lead in tableware products exceed the safe harbor level of 0.5 micrograms per day. A settlement in the early 1990s between the California Attorney General’s office and several tableware manufacturers established allowable leachable concentrations of lead at 0.226 parts per million (ppm) for flatware and 0.100 ppm for all other tableware.

In addition, OEHHA has established a safe harbor level for cadmium at 4.1 micrograms per day, and therefore any product causing cadmium exposures exceeding that level would require a Proposition 65 warning. An allowable concentration limit has not yet been established for cadmium.

The following government agencies have general information about hazardous substances and tableware:

• The California Department of Health Services, Food and Drug Branch (state counterpart to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) oversees the California Tableware Safety Law and offers information about lead exposures on its website at http://www.dhs.ca.gov/childlead/tableware/twhome.html.
• Environmental Defense, a non-profit organization, in cooperation with the State Attorney General’s office, provides information concerning lead in tableware on its website at http://www.environmentaldefense.org/article.cfm?contentid=952.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has levels established that govern the ability to market specific tableware in the United States. The FDA maintains a web site at https://www.fda.gov/food/environmental-contaminants-food/lead-food-and-foodwares. Tableware must meet the FDA requirements before it can be sold in the United States.