After months of speculation about the first BPA settlement reformulation standards, we have our first clue: 1,000 parts per million with an option to warn.

Serial polycarbonate drinking glass user Anthony Ferreiro resolved his allegations of BPA exposure without a warning from polycarbonate drinkware through two out-of-court settlements (1) (2), which recently became available on the California Attorney General Proposition 65 website. Both settlements apply to polycarbonate drinkware and provide an option for a 1,000 ppm reformulation standard (using the test method ATS 367 Rev) or a standard Proposition 65 warning for reproductive toxins.

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We caution that because these are out-of-court settlements and only involve one Proposition 65 plaintiff group, we do not yet know whether it will become the de facto compliance limit for BPA. We have no way of knowing whether the 1,000 ppm level is supported by an exposure analysis, and CEH still has complaints pending for BPA exposure from polycarbonate drinkware and thermal receipt paper. Until we see what happens with those cases, it is prudent to maintain labeling and other BPA warnings.