Member Alert: Prop 65 Safe Use Determination (SUD) for BPA Exposures from Certain Polycarbonate Eyewear Products

The Vision Council is Successful in Efforts to Win an Issuance of a Proposition 65 Safe Use Determination (SUD) for Exposures to Bisphenol A (BPA) from Certain Polycarbonate Eyewear Products

The State of California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is issuing a Proposition 65 Safe Use Determination (SUD) for exposure to Bisphenol A (BpA) from polycarbonate prescription glasses, non-prescription sunglasses, over-the-counter reading glasses and safety glasses manufactured, distributed or sold by members of The Vision Council. A SUD is a formal opinion issued by OEHHA as to whether a Proposition 65 warning is required for specific exposures.

The decision follows several years of work and fulfills The Vision Council's objective to receive a conclusion from OEHHA that BpA in certain optical products is so small that it does not create a health risk requiring a Proposition 65 warning for BpA.

The process began in December 2016, when The Vision Council submitted its original SUD application. Through ongoing conference calls and in-person meeting with OEHHA, the final application was submitted in July 2018. The application was deemed complete in March 2019, followed by the issuance of a 30-day public notice for comments. In April 2019, the public notice closed.

Based on the screening level analysis and data provided by The Vision Council in its SUD application, which highlighted worst case dermal exposure scenarios, BpA dermal exposure for The Vision Council member eyewear was found to be at .53 micro grams per day, well within the published safe harbor for BpA of 3 micro grams per day. Thus, OEHHA concluded that this very limited exposure to BpA from use of these eyewear products does not require a Proposition 65 warning for dermal exposure to BpA.

This covers products with acetonitrile extractable concentrations of BpA in the temple, nose pad, frame and lens measured at or below 25 micro grams per gram, 68 micro grams per gram, 120 micro grams per gram, and 302 micro grams per gram, respectively.

The notice announcing the issuance of the SUD will appear on the OEHHA website at www.oehha.ca.gov, and in the California Regulatory Notice Register on April 17, 2020.

For more information, contact Rick Van Arnam, The Vision Council's regulatory counsel, at rvanarnam@barnesrichardson.com.