CPSC Returns to Small Business Ombudsman CPSC’s 2011 budget request explains that it “is establishing a full time ombudsman position” to aid small businesses, especially related to the CPSIA.
EU and U.S Looking at Tanning Beds The European Union’s Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks is looking at the health effects of artificial light.
GAO Urges EPA to Review TSCA Authority The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needs to review its authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to require biomonitoring data, according to a February 4 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Whether or not Congress makes the changes to the CPSIA that CPSC suggested last month, the agency will continue to move forward with its work related to the law, CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum told PSL January 27.
CPSC Commissioner Robert Adler January 22 weighed in on the debates surrounding how the CPSIA handles lead, giving Congress three points he said it should consider if it decides to move on commissioners' suggested improvements to the law.
Discussion January 27 between Commissioner Anne Northup and visitors from the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) included expanding CPSC-AHAM cooperation on safety outreach, ranges tipovers, cooking fires, the CPSIA database, the CPSIA 15(j) provision that facilitates commission adoption of voluntary standards as mandatory, and recall effectiveness.
CPSC staffers January 27 assured visitors from the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) about the agency's handling of the importer program in development with Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Commissioner Robert Adler Jan. 26 welcomed suggestions from a top U.S. pediatrician on ways CPSC and the medical community can work together to improve child safety.
The EU's new RAPEX guidelines, published in the January 26 Official Journal of the European Union, gives dozens of rules EU members states must follow when participating in the product safety reporting program.
Australia's Consumer Affairs Minister Craig Emerson (Labor) January 25 announced that the nation would ban toys and baby products with more than 1% di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP).
CPSC will take a six-part approach to crib safety, including an expedited rulemaking, Chairman Inez Tenenbaum told the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s oversight subcommittee January 21.
From 2006 to 2008 there were an annual average of 43 non-fatal submersion incidents among children under age five not involving pools or spas, according to a CPSC report made available January 20.
CPSC increased its voluntary standards projects by 20 in the second half of fiscal 2009, a January 11 report showed.
February 9, 2010
GENERAL INTEREST
Toward Safer Plastics that Lock in Potentially Harmful Plasticizers Chemie.de (Berlin) Scientists have published the first report on a new way of preventing potentially harmful plasticizers — the source of long-standing human health concerns — from migrating from one of the most widely used groups of plastics.
Oh, What a Failing The Australian (Sydney, Australia) Toyoda's excruciating act of contrition on Friday night was not his first, even in the eight months he has been in charge - nor the first time a Toyota Motor Corp president has apologised for his company failing the high standards the world has expected of them for three decades.
New Lead-Paint Rules Generate Angry Response Kalamazoo Gazette (Kalamazoo, Mich.) News of new Environmental Protection Agency regulations for lead safety training for contractors has met with a bit of anger.
Further Info about Lunch Containers Marblehead Reporter (Marblehead, Mass.) A recent recycling "tip" recommended packing children's lunches in reusable plastic containers as opposed to plastic bags and aluminum foil.
TOYS
Single Law on Chemicals Could Lower Toy Prices The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kansas) Asian toymakers supplying most of the world's dolls and games say their costs may drop 15 percent if U.S. and European Union watchdogs streamline regulations on chemicals in children's playthings.
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February 8, 2010
GENERAL INTEREST
Research Breakthrough Keeps Phthalates from Migrating out of PVC Plastics Today (Middleburg Heights, Ohio) Researchers believe they have developed a way to ensure phthalate plasticizers become permanently bound within any PVC part in which they are used, with zero migration of the additives.
Proposed Legislation Targets ATV Riders LaSalle News Tribune (LaSalle, Ill.) Local dirt bike and all-terrain vehicle enthusiasts are used to adrenaline-fueled rides through wooded trails and on motocross trails, but nothing gets their hearts pumping quite like having a state legislator propose taking away their ability to ride.
BUILDING MATERIAL
Removing Paint Now Requires Extra Caution Stockton Record (Stockton, Calif.) Do-it-yourselfers looking to remodel a home built before 1978, beware: A new law policed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will take effect April 22 requiring new safety precautions or a certified professional to remove lead-based paints or other materials.
Crib Crusade Goes Statewide WNBC (New York, N.Y.) It has become their crusade. Two Long Island couples, bonded by a common tragedy, now also share a crusade against the piece of furniture they claim changed their lives forever -- the so called "drop-side" crib.
LIGHTERS, CANDLES, ETC.
Dangerous 'Toy' Lighters Banned Perth Now (Perth, Australia) Toy-like novelty cigarette lighters are being banned in Western Australia from today, amid fears children could literally end up playing with fire.
TOYS
Lead-Contaminated Toys Seized at Seattle's Waterfront Seattle Times (Seattle, Wash.) Thousands of toys seized last month at the Seattle waterfront were found to contain harmful amounts of lead, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Friday
Seattle: Customs Seizes Lead-Contaminated NFL Toys in January The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington) U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigators seized two container loads of lead-contaminated toys at the Port of Seattle on January 12th according to a news release.
Product Safety Letter January 27 sat down with CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum to discuss her views on various issues. The topics included what to expect in the coming year, the commission's recent suggestions for CPSIA changes, cadmium, the testing and certification stay, component testing, drywall, her opinions about regulated industry, and her view of her job. Here's what she had to say:
CPSC late Friday, January 15, sent three recommendations to Congress for improving the CPSIA. The suggestions received unanimous support from commissioners. The first involves flexibility in applying the section 101(a) lead provisions. The commission mentions children's off-road vehicles, bicycles and books as items that are falling under the lead-content restrictions and suggests that Congress likely did not intend that. While not going into specifics, commissioners asked for flexibility to help it deal with such unintended situations.
It's funny how events arise and get set to converge sometimes. Two prominent senators -- Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) -- are calling for action on cadmium in children's products at the same time that CPSC's January 15 deadline nears for getting its suggested improvements to the CPSIA to Congress.
CPSC December 23 made available the names of the members of the chronic hazard advisory panel (CHAP) that will look at three temporarily banned phthalates as mandated by the CPSIA.
I can't seem to get the falsetto part from Jackson Browne's Stay out of my head today. In any event, below is a verbatim reproduction of a very useful overview and chart produced by CPSC staff explaining what is and is not subject to the extended stay of enforcement for CPSIA testing and certification. Late yesterday, commissioners voted 4-1 to extend the stay to February 10, 2011 related to lead content -- Commissioner Robert Adler voted no. The day before, they voted 5-0 for a complex approach to non-lead issues, extending the stay for some products and not for others.…and if the Gee-Cee don't mind …. and if Compliance don't mind …
CPSC Commissioners voted December 17 to extend the stay of enforcement on testing certification related to lead for one year to February 10, 2011. Below are links to statements of Chairman Inez Tenenbaum -- Yes Commissioner Anne Northup -- Yes Commissioner Nancy Nord -- Yes Commissioner Robert Adler -- No…
CPSC commissioners voted 5-0 December 16 to lift the testing and certification stay on certain products, but decided to “bifurcate” the decision related to lead issues until December 17. They will vote by ballot.
CPSC is set to receive the full $118.2 million called for under the CPSIA for fiscal 2010 under the final appropriations bill approved by the Senate 57-35 December 13. The full funding follows a rising trend in the number. In May, President Barack Obama's initial budget request of $107 million would have been a 10.5% reduction from the CPSIA figure. After that, early versions of the Senate and House budget bills would have given CPSC about $115 million and $113 million respectively.
The recent brouhaha over the since-retracted safety allegations leveled at Zhu Zhu Pet toys by GoodGuide raises the question of who got hurt. I contend that the biggest victims might be other consumer advocacy groups. Please don’t misunderstand: the manufacturer, Cepia, is the primary victim, and what happened was wrong -- although it will be interesting, given that the small company has been unable to keep up with demand, to see whether it will need to stop supplying at full capacity to deal with a slowdown in demand. However, consumer groups might be hurt more.
CPSC’s recent decision to deny a petition to exclude brass in toys from CPSIA Section 101 lead provisions has raised much protest. The complaints have focused on at least four issues that are related and thus can become mingled and confused. The following identifies and separates the four issues.
