In Brief: California Prop. 65

California Prop. 65: Supreme Court on Jan. 13 denies writ of certiorari petition asking the court to hear arguments on whether Proposition 65 is preempted by the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. A ruling in favor of preemption would have protected medical device manufacturers from civil suits under the 1986 California statute, which requires manufacturers of consumer products containing cancer-causing chemicals or reproductive toxins to provide "clear and reasonable" warnings of their potential threat. The cert petition was filed by the Committee of Dental Amalgam Alloy Manufacturers and Distributors and Dentsply International, which are defending against an action initiated in July 1993 by the Environmental Law Foundation over the adequacy of dental amalgam warning labels. The Supreme Court's decision not to accept the preemption case could affect the outcome of a Prop. 65 action initiated in November against manufacturers of devices containing the plasticizer Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) ("The Gray Sheet" Jan. 13, p. 8)...