CPSC AGENDA SHOWS MANY NON-CPSIA TASKS TOO CPSC’s fall 2008 regulatory plan, made available November 24, shows the agency with much work to do besides its high profile efforts on the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).
6(b) CHANGES BEGAN IN AUGUST, NEW RULE EXPLAINS CPSC’s November 28 final rule on the relaxed Section 6(b) disclosure restrictions is retroactive to all information requests received by the agency since August 14.
NORDSTROM SETTLES REPORTING ALLEGATIONS FOR DRAWSTRINGS The $60,000 reporting-allegation settlement by Nordstrom announced December 3 by CPSC involves an agency policy begun in 2006 to include “generic defects” in its decisions about whether products are defective.
PBDE EXPOSURE MOSTLY OCCURS INDOORS, EPA CONCLUDES The Environmental Protection Agency seeks feedback by January 5 on a study that finds exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) occur mostly indoors.
CPSC URGES MORE SPECIFICS IN LEAD-VINYL TEST CPSC November 26 told the ASTM F15.62 subcommittee on lead in vinyl children’s products that a proposed test method might be “insufficiently specific.”
HEALTH CANADA TESTING FINDS JEWELRY WITH LEAD Health Canada November 28 said its periodic testing of children’s jewelry found Mood Chain anklets and necklaces with excessive lead levels.
ECHA GOT MORE THAN 2 MILLION PRE-REGISTRATIONS The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) December 2 said it got more than 2 million REACH pre-registrations involving more than 100,000 substances.
EU MEMBER STATES MOVE CLP REGULATION FORWARD Europe moved closer December 1 to GHS adoption with EU member states agreeing to reflect it in the Regulation on Classification, Labeling and Packaging (CLP).
ECHA 2009-2012 WORK PROGRAM FOCUSES ON REACH AND GHS Over the next four years, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) plans to work on implementing REACH and the EU’s rules stemming from the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals.
CPSC SUED OVER PHTHALATES DECISION Public Citizen and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) December 4 sued CPSC over the agency’s recent decision about phthalates in children’s products.
TOYMAKERS SETTLE CALIFORNIA PROP 65 SUITS Ten companies December 4 agreed to pay $550,000 to test for lead in toys and to improve consumer awareness to settle Proposition 65 lawsuits by California and Los Angeles.
CALIFORNIA WARNS AGAINST OZONE GENERATORS The California Air Resources Board (CARB) December 1 warned consumers against buying indoor air cleaning appliances that intentionally generate ozone.
CU URGES CONSUMERS TO CHECK RECALLS Consumers Union (CU) December 2 said its recent study of CPSC-administered recalls show they were up 19% comparing FY2008 to FY2007 and that two-thirds of recalled products were for children.
CPSC BRIEFS Briefs on hats/mittens, action figures, doll clothing, hockey helmets, CPSC activity, nursing pillows, IKEA, CPSC meetings
