REVISED: March 12, 2013

PROPOSITION 65: WARNING

Drilling, sawing, sanding or machining this product generates wood dust and dust of titanium dioxide from the edge/end sealer, substances known to the State of California to cause cancer. Avoid inhaling wood dust and titanium dioxide dust or use a dust mask or other safeguards to avoid inhaling dust.
Wood products emit methanol, a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.

California Health and Safety Code Section 25249.6

Background

In 1986, California voters approved an initiative to address their growing concerns about exposure to toxic chemicals. The initiative requires the state to publish a list of chemicals known to cause cancer or other harm. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) administers this initiative under Proposition 65 and the list of chemicals, which must be updated at least once a year, has grown to include approximately 800 chemicals. Three may be present with Tolko wood products: wood dust, titanium dioxide, and methanol.

On December 18, 2009, wood dust was added to California's Proposition 65 list as a substance known to the state of California to cause cancer. Wood products will expose individuals to wood dust when the wood products are drilled, sawed, sanded, machined, or otherwise handled in a manner that will produce wood dust.

On September 2, 2011, titanium dioxide (TiO2) was added to California's Proposition 65 list as a substance known to the state of California to cause cancer. The TiO2 listing is for airborne particles of respirable size and does not cover TiO2 when it remains bound within a product matrix. TiO2 does not naturally occur in wood or the wood dust created when machined or sanded. TiO2 is a chemical that is used in edge and end sealers in engineered wood products, lumber, wood stencil paints and inks.  The presence of TiO2 varies across individual product lines. Consumer exposure to respirable TiO2 would occur only when a wood product was sawn, sanded or machined in an area of the product that contained a TiO2 sealer or stencil, such as sawing through the edge of a structural wood panel.

On March 16, 2012, the state of California listed methanol under Proposition 65. Methanol is a naturally occurring substance within plant materials, such as wood. The listing by California Proposition 65 states that methanol is a substance known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity.

Click here to view Tolko MSDS documentation.

Notification

Wood product manufacturers, sellers and marketers are providing clear and reasonable warning to consumers about potential hazards. The warning above may be shown on Tolko’s invoices, website, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) or other documentation related to the sale of Tolko wood products. Tolko is also working with the Western Wood Producers Association (WWPA) who has prepared materials for wood products manufacturers to inform wholesalers and retailers on wood dust, TiO2, methanol, and any other substance, as required by Proposition 65, California State regulations.

Warning Required

Manufacturers, sellers and marketers are informing their distributors, including wholesalers and retailers, of their duty to provide clear and reasonable warning to California consumers, warning them about significant amounts of chemicals in products they purchase, in their homes or workplaces, or that are released into the environment, prior to their purchase, to enable California consumers to make informed decisions about protecting themselves from exposure to these chemicals. Enforcement of Proposition 65 may occur via California Attorney General’s Office, local district or city attorneys or citizens that may file actions against a business that fails to provide a warning that a material contains listed chemicals.

More About Proposition 65

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) administers the Proposition 65 program. More information is available from the OEHHA website.

A Wood Dust Notification Packet and retailer warning signs are available through the WWPA’s Online Store.

Click here to view Tolko MSDS documentation.