Advertisement
Grab your lab coat. Let's get started
Welcome!
Welcome!
Create an account below to get 6 C&EN articles per month, receive newsletters and more - all free.
It seems this is your first time logging in online. Please enter the following information to continue.
As an ACS member you automatically get access to this site. All we need is few more details to create your reading experience.
Not you? Sign in with a different account.
Not you? Sign in with a different account.
ERROR 1
ERROR 1
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
Password and Confirm password must match.
If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)
ERROR 2
ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.
Policy
Styrene Avoids Injurious Label For Now
Industry wins round in fight to keep chemical off California's toxics list
by Glenn Hess
August 17, 2009
A California Superior Court judge in Sacramento has tentatively ruled that state environmental officials may not add styrene monomer to the state's list of chemicals that threaten human health.
Adding styrene to the Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity "could have a devastating effect on that product's use," Judge Shelleyanne W. L. Chang said in her Aug. 12 ruling.
Styrene is widely used in food packaging, consumer electronics, automobile parts, and many other products.
Chang ordered the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment not to proceed with its plan to list the chemical as a cancer-causing agent under Proposition 65. The office proposed adding styrene to the list in June, citing a finding by the International Agency for Research on Cancer that styrene is "probably carcinogenic to humans" (C&EN, June 22, page 28).
Jack Snyder, executive director of the Styrene Information & Research Center (SIRC), the industry group that filed the suit, says styrene is not a human carcinogen, and that placing it on the list would stigmatize the chemical and cause irreparable harm to the industry.
"Proposition 65 was intended to be a science-based list of known carcinogens, not a list of suspect chemicals," Snyder says. "It is worth noting that no authoritative body anywhere in the world considers styrene to be a known human carcinogen."
The court will next hear arguments on whether the state should be permanently enjoined from listing styrene under Proposition 65.
You might also like...
The power is now in your (nitrile gloved) hands
Sign up for a free account to get more articles. Or choose the ACS option that’s right for you.
Already have an ACS ID? Log in
Join the conversation
Contact the reporter
Submit a Letter to the Editor for publication
Engage with us on Twitter