An "EssentialInfo - EO Consumer Advocacy" Original Groundbreaking Report
by Lee Tea, Independent Investigative Journalist Private Action in the Public Interest
Environmental Research Center, Inc., a California non-profit corporation with a declared mission to defend the public from health hazards, has issued a notification to government authorities that products distributed by Young Living Essential Oils are in violation of the State of California's Health and Safety Code, according to documents posted on the California State website.
A Notice of Violation was served in June to the Current CEO or President at Young Living Essential Oils, LC in both Lehi and Spanish Fork, UT . The letter acted as the required 60-day notification for ERC to file a lawsuit as a citizen enforcement action in the public interest against Young Living. A Complaint for Injunctive and Civil Penalties, initiating legal action as a result of Young Living's failure to correct the alleged violations, was subsequently filed with the Superior Court of Alameda County on December 1st. |
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Related Violations and Fines
ERC claims Young Living has neglected to warn California consumers of exposure to substances known to cause cancer and reproductive harm by not lawfully labeling eight of their products allegedly found to contain lead by a third-party independent laboratory, which is a violation of California's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 more commonly known as Proposition 65.
The Office of the California Attorney General explains, "If a business is found to be in violation of Proposition 65, a court may order the business to stop committing the violation. The business is also subject to civil penalties of up to $2,500 per day for each violation." ERC alleges Young Living has been in violation of Proposition 65 everyday since at least June 5th, 2012. Prop 65 Details and Debate
In short, Prop 65 prohibits people doing business from knowingly exposing Californians to chemicals that can cause cancer or reproductive toxicity without prior warning.
Despite widespread criticism for Prop 65's enforcement procedures, regulatory thresholds and dynamic list of hazardous chemicals, any matter involving undisclosed toxins in Young Living's products is unlikely to sit well with its health-conscious consumers, many of which are recruited as sales representatives to sell products and promote a promise of purity for the direct sales company.
ERC claims Young Living products violate the regulation's Maximum Allowable Dose Level for lead of 0.5 microgram/day and remarks on the significance of ingestion as the route of exposure. While the current limit is debated for being too strict by some opponents, others argue the level is too high particularly for children, workers, and pregnant women. Studies reportedly document lead level exposures of 0.0125-0.1875 micrograms/day during pregnancy associated with developmental effects in the offspring. Figures like these have recently prompted the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), the government agency that maintains the violating list of chemicals for Proposition 65, to review if the current limit is too low to sell to consumers without disclosure. A Matter of Timing
The initial Notice of Violations, dated and served June 5th, 2015, predates a major executive decision at Young Living to appoint a new Chief Executive Officer in the same month.
The change of office, addressed by Young Living in a June 25thannouncement, briefly explains the former CEO was voluntarily resigning to pursue personal interests and leaving the position to his wife. In place of their usual in-house media contact, inquiries regarding the CEO announcement are directed to Mr. Dan Rene, a Senior Vice President of the public relations firm Levick primarily noted in the company's information for specializing in high-profile reputation protection in matters of tax evasion, public crisis, and corporational reputation threats. A hearing in Alameda County Superior Court is scheduled for January 4th. |
List of Products Cited for Lead
The Young Living products listed by the ERC to have tested positive for lead are cited to be:
"Young Living Essential Oils" -
About Young Living
From the Company's Website:
"Young Living Essential Oils, LC is the world leader in essential oils with a strict Seed to Seal process to produce pure essential oil products for every individual, family, and lifestyle. This process ensures that all products are genuine, free of synthetic chemicals, and pure." The company claims over 3 million users of their products worldwide. (source: https://www.youngliving.com/en_US/company/media/announcements/young-living-announces-new-ceo) A Note About Legal Action
A complaint is commonly the first filing of a lawsuit. The "Complaint for Injunctive and Civil Penalties" is the plea that initiates the lawsuit being filed here and can be viewed as linked in the article at http://oag.ca.gov/system/files/prop65/complaints/2015-00514C4004.pdf. Hearing date and case information is available by visiting "The Superior Court of California Alameda County" on DomainWeb in a cookie-enabled browser for the case number listed on the Complaint: RG15794996. The site verifies this complaint was received and a hearing has been scheduled for January 4th. There are terms you have to agree to before searching the site, and linking directly to the site is prohibited without written consent.
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Sources
Levick Public Relations and Strategic Communications Firm. "About -> Dan Rene". Accessed December 2015: http://levick.com/about/dan-rene
Lexington Law Group, Counsel for Petitioner Center for Environmental Health. "Petition by Center For Environmental Health For Administrative Rulemaking to Repeal or Amend Proposition 65 Regulations Pertaining to the Maximum Allowable Dose Level for Lead." 2 July 2015. Accessed December 2015: http://oehha.ca.gov/prop65/law/pdf_zip/PetitionRulemaking070315.pdf
Lozeau Drury LLP. "Complaint for Injunctive and Civil Penalties." Oakland, CA, Dec 1 2015. Accessed November 2015: http://oag.ca.gov/system/files/prop65/complaints/2015-00514C4004.pdf
Lozeau Drury LLP. "Re: Notice of Violations of California Health & Safety Code Section 25249.5 et seq." Oakland, CA, June 5 2015. Accessed November 2015: http://oag.ca.gov/system/files/prop65/notices/2015-00514.pdf
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. "Tentative Agenda for Hearing on Center for Environmental Health Petition Requesting Repeal or Amendment of the Safe Harbor Level for Lead", 2 Oct 2015. Accessed December 2015: http://oehha.ca.gov/prop65/public_meetings/100215MeetAgenda.html
State of California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General. Proposition 65 "Frequently Asked Questions", Sacramento CA. Copyright 2015, Department of Justice. Accessed November 2015: https://oag.ca.gov/prop65/faq
Young Living Essential Oils. "Young Living Essential Oils Announces New CEO", 26 June 2015. Copyright 2015, Lehi UT. Accessed December 2015: https://www.youngliving.com/en_US/company/media/announcements/young-living-announces-new-ceo
Lexington Law Group, Counsel for Petitioner Center for Environmental Health. "Petition by Center For Environmental Health For Administrative Rulemaking to Repeal or Amend Proposition 65 Regulations Pertaining to the Maximum Allowable Dose Level for Lead." 2 July 2015. Accessed December 2015: http://oehha.ca.gov/prop65/law/pdf_zip/PetitionRulemaking070315.pdf
Lozeau Drury LLP. "Complaint for Injunctive and Civil Penalties." Oakland, CA, Dec 1 2015. Accessed November 2015: http://oag.ca.gov/system/files/prop65/complaints/2015-00514C4004.pdf
Lozeau Drury LLP. "Re: Notice of Violations of California Health & Safety Code Section 25249.5 et seq." Oakland, CA, June 5 2015. Accessed November 2015: http://oag.ca.gov/system/files/prop65/notices/2015-00514.pdf
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. "Tentative Agenda for Hearing on Center for Environmental Health Petition Requesting Repeal or Amendment of the Safe Harbor Level for Lead", 2 Oct 2015. Accessed December 2015: http://oehha.ca.gov/prop65/public_meetings/100215MeetAgenda.html
State of California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General. Proposition 65 "Frequently Asked Questions", Sacramento CA. Copyright 2015, Department of Justice. Accessed November 2015: https://oag.ca.gov/prop65/faq
Young Living Essential Oils. "Young Living Essential Oils Announces New CEO", 26 June 2015. Copyright 2015, Lehi UT. Accessed December 2015: https://www.youngliving.com/en_US/company/media/announcements/young-living-announces-new-ceo
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