PRODUCT SAFETY LETTER View the entire issue in PDF format.

CPSC LEAD CONTENT GUIDE CLARIFIES WHAT IS COVERED CPSC's new Statement of Policy on testing and certifying lead content in children's products, which commissioners approved 5-0 October 20, clarifies that "not everything a child uses or touches must meet the lead content limits."

NORTHUP REITERATES POSITION ON PRIVATE LABS Commissioner Anne Northup November 21 – prior to the 5-0 CPSC vote to publish lab accreditation procedures related to total lead content – reiterated her position that if items tested in a company's proprietary, firewalled lab turn out to be noncompliant, the company should lose its ability to have such labs.

CPSC FIRE DATA SHOW NEARLY 2,600 DEATHS ANNUALLY There was an estimated annual average of 384,100 residential fires from 2004 to 2006, resulting in averages of 2,590 deaths, 12,740 injuries, and $5.94 billion in property damage, according to CPSC data made available October 19.

ROV ANPR MOVES FORWARD WITH COMMISSION VOTE CPSC members voted 4-0 to publish an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) for recreational off-highway vehicles (ROVs).

POLYURETHANE FOAM MAKERS SEEK LEAD EXEMPTION CPSC's eventual decision on a petition from the Polyurethane Foam Association (PFA) for exclusion from CPSIA lead rules could shed light on how "lead-free" a material must be to win such exclusion.

BROWN AND CHENOWETH JOIN NORTHUP'S STAFF The two new CPSC faces behind Commissioner Anne Northup at the October 21 commission meeting belonged to Meredith Brown and Mark Chenoweth.

EU PROPOSAL TARGETS BABY SLEEP ENVIRONMENTS The EU General Product Safety Committee October 21 voted to move forward on standards for sleep products for children ages 0 to 4.

NFPA AND JOHNS HOPKINS PARTNER ON FIRE MESSAGES FOR KIDS The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have launched a project targeting how to explain fire safety to children.

CPSC BRIEFS Briefs on rechargeable batteries, flatware, utility vehicles, tealight candles, riding mowers, robes, light switches, lamps, office chairs, brass fittings, CPSC meetings.

STANDARDS & TESTING BRIEFS Briefs on cooking appliances, ice cream makers, security alarms, fire extinguishers, immersion protection, battery adapters, electrical controls, fire alarms, LP gas.

FOREIGN & INTERNATIONAL Briefs in RAPEX-China, toy ironing boards, bike trees, Halloween costumes, utility lighters, bike stems, pacifiers, wall climbing, RAPEX.