LA Testing provides analytical services to protect the public and help businesses comply with California’s Proposition 65.
Garden Grove, CA, January 2nd, 2012 — In 1986, California voters approved an initiative to address increasing concerns about exposure to toxic chemicals. That initiative, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, is better known by its original name of Proposition 65.
Proposition 65 requires businesses to notify Californians about significant amounts of chemicals in the products they purchase, in their homes or workplaces, or that are released into the environment. This list includes lead acetate, a white crystalline chemical compound that has a sweet taste. It was added to the Prop 65 list in 1988.
Lead acetate, like other lead compounds, is toxic. It is used as a reagent to make other lead compounds and as a fixative for various dyes. It has also been used as the active ingredient in hair coloring dyes and in some cultures as an ingredient in cosmetics.
Lead acetate is soluble in water and glycerin. Due to its high toxicity it is imperative that any lead acetate be disposed of properly at hazardous wastecenters or chemical processing facilities.
“As with all products and manufacturing processes that utilize lead, it is important to minimize worker exposure to lead-based products and compounds as well as protect surrounding communities and the environment,” reported Joe Frasca, Senior Vice President, Marketing at LA Testing and EMSL Analytical, Inc., a leading environmental and industrial hygiene testing laboratory. “Exposure can come from dusts, solids and water pollution. Inhalation can cause dizziness and loss of consciousness. Ingestion can result in nausea, vomiting and loss of consciousness. Worker exposure testing and environmental testing can determine if lead acetate and other forms of lead compounds are present to help prevent damage to human health and protect the environment from contamination,” he continued.
