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Panel Backs Adoption of Existing Toxic Standards

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Times Staff Writer

Gov. George Deukmejian’s scientific advisory panel recommended Friday that the state adopt existing standards to determine what foods and other products are safe under Proposition 65--a move immediately denounced by environmentalists as “business as usual.”

At the same time, the panel voted to add 39 chemicals to the list of carcinogens covered by Proposition 65, including saccharin, a controversial artificial sweetener, and urethane, which is found in red wine and other alcoholic beverages.

The actions came as the state and industry groups grapple with the question of how to comply with the antitoxics initiative. Key provisions will begin to take effect Feb. 27.

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Would Last Indefinitely

The regulation recommended by the panel would last indefinitely. It would adopt federal and state standards for food, drugs, cosmetics and medical devices--even though members of the panel acknowledged that the existing standards are not sufficient in all cases.

The panel also called on the state to begin scientific “risk assessments” of 50 carcinogens on the state’s list. The panel recommended starting with chemicals that the public is most frequently exposed to.

Thomas E. Warriner, undersecretary of health and welfare who was appointed by Deukmejian to implement Proposition 65, said the recommendation provides a basis for complying with the initiative without causing chaos among businesses when the initiative takes effect. It would give the state a method for examining the effectiveness of the federal government’s existing regulations.

However, environmentalists said the proposal could undermine the initiative and threatened to go to court to stop the Deukmejian Administration from adopting such a rule.

“What it says is business as usual is good enough,” said David Roe, an attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund and a co-author of the initiative. “This is exactly why people grew impatient enough to vote for Proposition 65.”

The panel’s action pleased industry representatives who have been unsuccessfully attempting to persuade the Deukmejian Administration to grant a blanket exemption for food, drugs, cosmetics and medical devices.

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“I think this is a rational way to go about it,” said Peter Hutt, a Washington attorney who represents the Grocery Manufacturers Assn.

Warnings Required

The initiative, overwhelmingly approved by the voters last year, will require a business to warn people of exposure to a chemical known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive harm. It will also prohibit the discharge of such chemicals into drinking water.

The warning requirements take effect a year after a chemical is listed; the discharge prohibition takes effect another eight months later.

Deukmejian, acting on the advice of the panel, has periodically added chemicals this year to the initial list of 29 substances he issued last February.

The 39 chemicals adopted by the panel Friday, which Deukmejian will formally add to the list Jan. 1, will bring to about 175 the number of substances on the state’s list.

Frank Young, commissioner of the federal Food and Drug Administration, made an appearance before the panel in an effort to assure the state that federal laws offer sufficient protection from carcinogenic substances.

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But Young also acknowledged in an interview that there may be chemicals identified by the state as carcinogenic that are not studied by the Food and Drug Administration, particularly those that occur naturally in many foods.

“The fundamental concept is you cannot look at every compound in the food supply,” Young said. “With diminishing resources both in California and the federal government, I’ve got to go to what’s likely to be a problem. I can’t just deal with every perceived problem.”

Sherwin Gardner, a vice president of the Grocery Manufacturers Assn., acknowledged that many chemicals on the state’s list are present in foods, but food manufacturers do not conduct tests to find out how much.

‘A Wealth of Ignorance’

“For the naturally occurring substances, there’s a wealth of ignorance,” he said. “Knowing what’s in the product is a lot of work.” Naturally occurring chemicals that are widespread in food in small amounts include benzene, arsenic, chromium and lead, all of which are on the state’s Proposition 65 list.

The key question that remains concerning chemicals on the list, such as saccharin and urethane, is what level is hazardous to those who are exposed.

The Food and Drug Administration has already determined that saccharin is harmful but allows its production and sale provided that consumers are given a warning.

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