"This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer or reproductive harm," is not what you expect to see when you open your brand new piece of outdoor furniture. You may even find it alarming. However, if you live in the State of California, and look around you will find this warning on several items in your home."

In 1987, the state of California created the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, also known as Proposition 65, due to growing concerns of drinking water contamination by toxic chemicals.  Over time, Proposition 65 has been used to protect the state of California from any chemicals that may cause hazarders to your health. The list of toxic chemicals is updated yearly and has grown to approximately 800 chemicals, since it was first published in 1987.
 
This law is known as a “Right to know” law and is intended to notify the person of the presence of chemicals know by the state of California to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. The reportable level of these chemicals is lower than a hazardous level.
 
Proposition 65 warnings can be found in most places and on products throughout the State of California. Grocery store, jewelry, lamps, hospitals, automobiles, beauty products and furniture all have many elements listed in Proposition 65. While you should not ignore these warnings, WestChaseShops, Inc. wants to assure you that all of our products are compliant with US standards.
 
Proposition 65 requires a warning label on all products shipped to the state of California. WestChaseshops, Inc. carries products from several manufactures and ships products all over the United States. Not knowing where each product will ship to at the time of production, we label each item with a Proposition 65 warning.

Most wood furniture items contain very small remnants of wood dust, which is a listed chemical. While there is research that supports health-related risks due to wood dust, this research also finds that the key factor in determining the health risk is the amount of exposure to wood dust. These hazardous exposure limits are generally found in the workplace when wood is being sawed or sanded.