Proposition 65

WARNING
Some of the products sold/offered on this site can expose you to chemicals, including but not limited to Lead and/or Nickel, known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information, go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.

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“This product may contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, and other reproductive harm,” is not what you expect to see when you open your new instrument case, bag or hardware accessory. You may even find it alarming. However, if you live in the state of California and look around, you will find this warning on items in your home, in restaurants and even theme parks. This warning is the result of a law passed in California in 1986, referred to as the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, or more generally referred to as “Proposition 65.”

What is Proposition 65?

Proposition 65 is broad law that applies to any company operating in California, selling products in California, or manufacturing products that may be sold in or brought into California. It mandates that the Governor of California, through the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) maintain and publish a list of chemicals that are known to cause cancer, birth defects and/or other reproductive harm. The list, which must be updated at least annually, includes a wide variety of chemicals that can be found in many everyday items, such as dyes, solvents, drugs, food-additives, by-products of certain processes, pesticides and tobacco products. The purpose of Proposition 65 is to ensure that people are informed about exposure to these chemicals.

A warning must be given if the listed chemical is merely present in a product unless a business demonstrates that the exposure it causes poses “no significant risk.” The “no significant risk” levels established under the law present some of the most conservative public health levels in the world. With respect to carcinogens, the “no significant risk” level is defined as the level which is calculated to result in not more than one excess case of cancer in 100,000 individuals exposed over a 70-year lifetime. In other words, if you are exposed to the chemical in question at this level every day for 70 years, theoretically, it will increase your chances of getting cancer by no more than 1 case in 100,000 individuals so exposed.

With respect to reproductive toxicants, the “no significant risk” level is defined as the level of exposure which, even if multiplied by 1,000, will not produce birth defects or other reproductive harm. In other words, the level of exposure is below the “no observable effect level,” divided by 1,000. (The “no observable effect level” is the highest dose level which has not been associated with observable reproductive harm in humans or test animals.)

For more information about Proposition 65, visit: www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65

Who should notify you?

The manufacturers of products are supposed to notify customers of any possible chemical that is present in their products in levels required by the state. This will usually be done with the use of a sticker or insert with the relevant product. We are also maintaining a list of any publicly posted manufacturer’s statement on Prop 65 for our customers. You can view the list below. We will continue to update this list as more manufacturers post them.

Below are some links to manufacturer specific statements regarding their own Prop65 warnings. We will update this listing as we receive new references from manufacturers.

Conn-Selmer
Included Brands: Armstrong, Artley, Bach, Conn, Holton, King, Leblanc, Ludwig, Scherl & Roth, Selmer, Selmer Paris, Yanagisawa
https://www.connselmer.com/california-proposition-65

Theo Wanne
https://theowanne.com/knowledge/prop-65/

JJ Babbitt
Included Brands: Meyer, Otto Link, Guy Hawkins, Wolf Tayne, Portnoy, J&D Hite as well as a Manufacturing Partner for Kessler Custom Mouthpieces.
https://jjbabbitt.com/prop-65

Yamaha
Yamaha has not yet setup a page specific to Prop 65 other than general information. June 2024, Yamaha has officially listed the following Prop 65 Warnings: