PRODUCT SAFETY LETTER View the entire issue in PDF format.

BAROODY HEARING SET FOR MAY 3; AAJ JOINS OPPOSITION The Senate Commerce Committee is set May 3 to consider President George W. Bush’s nomination of Michael Baroody to be CPSC Chairman.

CPSC AND CHINESE LOOK AT TOY TESTING DIFFERENCES CPSC staffers April 19 in Bethesda, Md. told China’s Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA) that it would be willing to include the Chinese agency among the toy-testing labs listed on CPSC’s website.

CPSC PROMOTES PLAY EQUIPMENT SAFETY CPSC April 24 urged attention to play equipment safety, pointing to the roughly 200,000 children hurt each year while using such items.

SMOKE CHANGES WILL REQUIRE IMPROVED TECHNOLOGIES Smoke from residential fires no longer should be characterized simply by its color and density due to the increasing complexity of consumer products often involved in such events.

EU URGES COOPERATION ON IMPORT PRODUCT SAFETY In the coming year, the EU will target customs officials for product safety training, especially at large seaports, the EU Health and Consumer Protection Directorate General (DG-Sanco) said April 23.

EU PROMOTES NEED FOR ANIMAL TESTING PHASE OUT The EU Research Directorate General April 24 promoted efforts to reduce animal testing for product safety.

CDC URGES MORE LEAD TESTING OF WOMEN More effort is needed to screen women of childbearing age (ages 16-44) for lead exposure, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

CPSC BRIEFS Briefs on heaters, computer batteries, boomboxes, decorations, snowmobiles, kite tubes, CPSC focus groups, CPSC meeting logs, CPSC meetings.

CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFS Briefs on toy warnings, ATVs

STANDARDS & TESTING BRIEFS Briefs on standards & copyright, play equipment, refrigerators/freezers, lighting, electrical signs, power cables, plugs/receptacles, conduit (2 briefs), cables, IT equipment.

FOREIGN & INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS Briefs on child restraints, RAPEX (2 briefs), gas appliances, grills, child safety week, skiing, heaters (2 briefs).