“Prop. 65 warning: Consuming foods or beverages that have been kept or served in leaded crystal products or handling products made of leaded crystal will expose you to lead — a chemical known to the state of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.”

In recent weeks, signs bearing this warning have been posted prominently near displays of merchandise in the Stanford Bookstore. Prop. 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, is a law unique to California passed in 1986 that requires businesses to warn consumers about potentially dangerous chemicals in the products they sell.

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has established what are known as “safe harbor” qualifications, or levels of exposure that trigger the warning requirement for certain chemicals. Businesses post warnings at their own discretion but are bound by law to do so if their products contain levels of these chemicals that exceed the “safe harbor” levels.

At the Bookstore, the warnings are posted on top of glassware displays that include ceramic mugs, shot glasses, decorative glasses and coffee thermoses. Cliff Ewert, spokesman for Follett Higher Education Group, the company that manages the store, said that the new signs were put up to cover the liabilities of out of state manufacturers.

“California is the only state to require that these warnings be put up for even trace elements,” Ewert said. “The signs are there as a convenience to cover all products. We’re complying with California law by informing that these products may or may not contain lead.”

However, Ewert also said that nearly all glassware contains some traces of the chemical, but that he is extremely doubtful that products sold at the bookstore contain levels of lead above the “safe harbor” mark.

“We assume that our products don’t [contain enough lead to be dangerous],” he said. “The signs are meant to be comprehensive.”

According to the California Childhood Lead Prevention Branch, or CCLPB, “occasional” use of leaded crystal will not expose users to large amounts of lead unless they are used as storage containers. However, the Bookstore warnings — though they only mention leaded crystal — are posted near displays of all kinds of glassware.

“I don’t think the signs are clear at all,” said senior Cicely Smith, who was shopping for a glass for a friend. “I was just wondering what the warnings applied to, since I couldn’t tell if the signs applied to a new product since I haven’t seen them before.”

She said the Prop. 65 warnings would dissuade her from buying a product, especially if they weren’t clearer.

“The Bookstore should put the warnings on the actual product that contains lead,” she said. “If other products are safe, they should display them separately.”

The CCLPB states that ceramic products, especially decorative ones, sometimes contain small amounts of lead used for glazes and decorations. Lead gives glaze a smoother, glasslike finish, which also provides strength to the ceramic and keeps moisture from penetrating into the piece. However, most tableware, which should include the standard coffee mugs sold at the Bookstore, have lead levels below the Prop. 65 “safe harbor” levels.

Freshman Maren Shipe said that she had noticed the warnings during fall quarter.

“I did my Program in Writing and Rhetoric paper about pediatric cancer and I read about how some baby bottles were carcinogenic,” Shipe said. “When I went into the Bookstore after, I noticed smaller warnings that said mugs and crystal wares could be carcinogenic. Now the signs have changed. They’re a little bigger and mention birth defects but they could be much more prominent.”

Although Ewert said that no students have asked about the signs, Shipe included the warnings at the Bookstore in a voluntary presentation of her PWR topic to Serra, her dorm.

“There were a couple of questions about the warnings but I told them I didn’t know anything else about it,” Shipe said. “They were surprised, but not overly concerned. It definitely makes you think, though, especially since the signs aren’t very clear.” She added that she had bought a mug for her mother.