Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2023 winners
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Bioplastics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
April 29, 2016 02:00 AM

California eyes labeling for styrene; rule excludes PS

Gayle S. Putrich
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    Styrene is the latest chemical to require a label warning California consumers of possible carcinogens, but exactly what that means for products that contain it is unclear.

    One styrene-based plastics product that will not need a label under California's latest Proposition 65 ruling is polystyrene.

    “We clearly stated this does not cover polystyrene,” said Sam Delson, deputy director for external and legislative affairs in the state's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment's (OEHHA).

    Along with the announcement of styrene as a chemical “known to the state of California” to cause cancer, OEHHA issued a 39-page report agreeing that styrene is not the same as polystyrene and clearly stating that PS is not the subject of the proposed listing.

    The EPS Industry Alliance, an expanded polystyrene industry group, called the report “reassuring.”

    Along with the listing, OEHHA proposed a “No Significant Risk Level” of 27 micrograms per day for styrene.

    With EPS, much like other products made with styrene, the amount of residual chemical after the point of manufacture is very small. In an EPS coffee cup, the relative exposure from styrene is only 5 to 10 parts per billion, the Alliance estimates. Reports published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services consistently indicate the small amount of styrene typically found in PS products is not a concern and nowhere near the NSRL level proposed by OEHHA.

    While those in the industry understand the difference between liquid styrene and PS, it's not something the average consumer necessarily knows.

    Betsy Steiner, executive director of the EPS Industry Alliance, said she views the Prop 65 listing of styrene as adding a step in the already uphill climb to combat public and consumer misconceptions of EPS and polystyrene in general.

    “EPS is 98 percent air — which from a recycling standpoint, is not a hot commodity,” she said. “But that doesn't mean it's not recyclable. It's not a human health concern. There are no studies that show it is somehow getting into the food chain. … These myths take on a life of their own and then they compound themselves every time a new piece of misinformation is added.”

    EPS workers and consumers are not at risk for the NSRL under Prop 65, Steiner said, so it is not yet clear to the Alliance what types of products will require a label or what kind of risk styrene, outside of industrial situations in liquid form, poses. In addition to EPS, styrene is also found in ABS and styrene acrylonitrile resins along with synthetic rubbers and latex.

    “Prop 65 in and of itself is curious — what are consumers doing with that information? Does it help them make better choices?” she said.

    California's Proposition 65, approved by voters there in 1986, requires businesses to notify citizens when a significant amount of chemicals are present in products, workplaces, public spaces or released into the environment. OEHHA administers the Prop 65 program, including managing the list of potentially harmful chemicals.

    The agency based its listing on the National Toxicology Program's (NTP) 2011 listing of the substance in its 12th edition of the Report on Carcinogens, which concluded that liquid styrene is “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen based on limited evidence of carcinogenicity from studies in humans, sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity from studies in experimental animals, and supporting data on mechanisms of carcinogenesis.”

    Adding styrene to the Prop 65 list has been in the pipeline for years and comes as no surprise to many in the industry, but the potential effects of listing the chemical and labeling products, as well as the uncertain future for those plans is irksome for many. Moreover, the labeling requirements in California under Prop 65 could soon change.

    As for products that will require a label starting next year, OEHHA is no help.

    “We don't test products or compile information on exposure levels for specific chemicals and products,” Delson said, via email. “It is up to the product manufacturers to determine if they are causing an exposure that would require a warning.”

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Greenback sets goal for 300 plants to recycle laminated packaging within 20 years
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Treaty talks end with plans for a draft agreement, but hurdles remain
    2
    Resin Prices
    3
    Resin Prices - North America
    4
    WL Plastics building $40M MDPE pipe plant in Texas
    5
    PP recycler PureCycle sees Ohio plant as springboard for growth
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2023 winners
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Bioplastics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified