California Proposition 65 — Lead and Lead Compounds Listing

Lead and lead compounds are listed under California’s Proposition 65 in two separate categories: as chemicals known to the state to cause cancer, and as chemicals known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity (developmental, male, and female endpoints) (OEHHA Prop 65 Pb). OEHHA lists an oral No Significant Risk Level (NSRL) of 15 ug/day for cancer and a Maximum Allowable Dose Level (MADL) of 0.5 ug/day for reproductive toxicity. Consumer products sold in California that expose a consumer above the relevant threshold must carry a Prop 65 warning unless another valid safe-harbor or exposure showing applies.

For infant and child foods, HMI uses the 0.5 ug/day lead MADL as the operative screening value because it is far stricter than the oral cancer NSRL. Prop 65 does not set food-category ppb limits, so HMI converts the MADL into a ppb equivalent only when a daily intake assumption is stated.

Listing categories

Listing status from OEHHA Prop 65 Pb:

Category	Status / value
Cancer	Currently listed
Reproductive toxicity (developmental)	Currently listed
Reproductive toxicity (male)	Currently listed
Reproductive toxicity (female)	Currently listed
NSRL (cancer, oral)	15 ug/day
MADL (reproductive toxicity)	0.5 ug/day

Food ppb conversion

For food comparisons, HMI uses:

lead ppb equivalent = 500 ÷ grams consumed per day

This is a transparent exposure conversion, not a Prop 65 food-category concentration limit. Example: at 110 g/day of puree, the 0.5 ug/day MADL corresponds to about 4.5 ppb lead.

Sources

• OEHHA Prop 65 Pb — OEHHA. Lead and Lead Compounds, Proposition 65 chemical listing.