We at Virginia Tile care about our customers and patterners and want to keep you informed. This warning is required by the California Proposition 65 (Prop 65), which is meant to notify California residents of potential exposure to certain chemical components.

• What is this Warning
• Exposures to Crystalline Silica during installation of the Ceramic Tiles.
• Safety Equipment

 

WHAT IS THIS WARNING?

California’s Proposition 65 (Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986) entitles California consumers to special warnings for products that contain chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm if those products expose consumers to such chemicals above certain threshold levels.

Proposition 65 does not ban the sale of products containing these chemicals, but instead requires warnings on any product, product packaging, or literature with the product. Please note that a Proposition 65 warning does not mean a product is in violation of any product safety standards or requirements.  In fact, the California government has clarified that a Proposition 65 warning “is not the same as a regulatory decision that a product is ‘safe’ or ‘unsafe.’” Many of these chemicals have been used in everyday products for years without documented harm.

This page intends to inform and educate our consumers regarding Prop 65.  In addition to it, when applicable, our products will be marked with information similar to what is shown below

EXPOSURES TO CRYSTALLINE SILICA DURING INSTALLATION OF THE CERAMIC TILES.

An independent study by Environmental Health & Engineering, Inc. (EH&E), commissioned by the Tile Council of North America (TCNA), in partnership with different national and international trade organization, found that the potential excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) associated with tile-related crystalline silica exposure for the average installers who installs tile is 1.3 in 10 million (1.3 x 10-7), or 0.013 per 100,000, a value that is 75-times below the threshold of 1 in 100,000 established under the Prop 65 regulation, when cutting tile using the traditional, wet saw method.

Emissions from cutting tile by the score and snap method were 50 times lower than found from wet-cutting, and over 1000 times lower than from motorized dry cutting.

In conjunction with a prior OSHA determination that wet-cutting tile with a stationary masonry saw requires no personal protective equipment (PPE). The same is true when scoring and snapping tile.

References:

• To learn more about Proposition 65, click here

SAFETY EQUIPMENT

Although, as demonstrated in the EH&E/TCNA study, cutting ceramic tile does not pose significant risk to exposure to any of the chemical elements listed under Prop 65, Virginia Tile recommends that you follow all safety measurements required by the tool manufacture you choose to use including but not limiting to:

• Protective goggles;
• Masks; and
• Gloves