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Proposition
65
Environmental Health
Compliance
Program
Proposition 65 (Prop 65), formally known as
the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, protects
California citizens and the State’s drinking water sources from
chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm,
and informs citizens about exposures to such chemicals. Prop 65 requires
the Governor to publish and to update a "List of Chemicals Known to
the State to Cause Cancer or Reproductive Toxicity."
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Twelve
months after a chemical is listed, businesses are prohibited from
knowingly and intentionally exposing individuals to that chemical
without first giving a clear and reasonable warning.
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Twenty
months after a chemical is listed, businesses are prohibited from
knowingly discharging listed chemicals into sources of drinking water.
The purpose of the
Proposition 65 Compliance Program is to inform the public of illegal or
threatened discharges of hazardous waste likely to cause substantial
injury to public health or safety. Specialists assess reports of hazardous
waste discharges for investigations and enforcement actions when needed.
Specialists inform the Health Officer, Orange County Board of Supervisors,
news media and the public of hazardous waste discharges. Prop 65 staff
also provide education and assistance to Designated Government Employees (DGEs).
Prop 65 also requires any
DGE who obtains information in the course of their official duties
regarding an illegal or threatened illegal discharge of hazardous waste to
report this within 72 hours to the Board of Supervisors and the Health
Officer. The Environmental Health Division was designated by the Board of
Supervisors and the Health Officer to accept, process and evaluate all
Prop 65 notifications received from DGEs.
In addition to receiving
notifications, Prop 65 staff monitor cases not mitigated and prepare press
releases on those reports that pose a possible threat to public health and
safety.
Proposition
65 Hotline
Proposition
65 notifications may be transmitted in the following ways:
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In person
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Mail
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FAX (714)
754-1768
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Telephone
(714)
433-6401
Please
have the following information available when reporting an illegal or
threatened illegal discharge of a hazardous waste:
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Date and
time of incident
Name of employee reporting
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Agency
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Incident
location (Name and address of business if applicable)
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Telephone
number and contact person at the incident location
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Brief
description of what, where and how it happened
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Responsible
party and telephone number
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Identification
of discharged waste
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Field data
or lab results (indicate soil, groundwater, etc.)
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Environment
affected (e.g., roadway, groundwater, sewer, storm drain, lake,
stream, river, bay, ocean, air, soil, flood channel, paved ground,
etc.)
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Type of
locale (e.g., residential, commercial, industrial, open area, rural,
etc.)
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Public or
private property
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Extent of
contamination
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Number of
injuries as a result of the release, including the number of persons
receiving medical treatment and where
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Agencies
responding to the incident
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Was the
incident mitigated
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Person or
agency that the incident was referred to
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Agency or
contractor that conducted the cleanup
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Is the area
physically accessible to the public
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Proximity to
the public
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Factors that
are likely to cause substantial injury to the public health and safety
Links
Office
of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)
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