U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

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In light of the federal government shutdown, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission advises that it will reduce its workforce by one-third and will focus on enforcement actions that protect the public from consumer products that pose an imminent threat. Click here to read the full version of this alert.

As the slow days of summer draw  to a close, school children are not the only ones facing a busy fall  workload. The U.S. Consumer Product  Safety Commission has a packed agenda this fall, and heading into 2015. Here are some of the issues consumer product manufacturers, distributors, and retailers should be following:

  1. 1110  Hearing: The CPSC hearing on September 18 was  scheduled as a result of significant comments filed on the proposed 110 rule in  order to review “stakeholders” anticipated challenges in meeting an electronic  filing requirement. It provides members  of the industry an opportunity to explain to the CPSC the practical logistics involved  in creating certificates that “accompany” products they ship globally. The announcement for the hearing signaled CPSC’s  desire to get into the details, such as understanding the difference between document  imaging and searchable data elements. Many companies have already developed  systems for meeting certificate of compliance requirements, and the rule  changes would necessitate reengineering of existing IT systems to meet new  requirements.
  2. Magnet  Rule: The Commission moved forward with a hearing  on the proposed rule to ban small rare earth magnets, despite concerns raised  by Commissioner Buerkle that the rulemaking was premature and could affect the  ability of the Commission to serve as the appellate review body with respect to  current administrative cases alleging the magnets present a substantial product  hazard. The matter is not set for a  ballot vote and a decisional meeting is scheduled for September 24, 2014.

    Continue Reading What’s Happening at CPSC This Fall

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has released the risk assessment on phthalates conducted for the CPSC by a congressionally mandated Chronic Hazard Advisory Panel (CHAP). In the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, Congress charged the CHAP with making recommendations on whether the use of additional phthalates or phthalate alternatives in children’s toys and child care articles should be restricted as banned hazardous substances. The CHAP made the following specific recommendations in its assessment of the risks of 14 phthalates and six phthalate alternatives:

  • The interim ban on the use of diisononyl phthalate (DINP) in children’s toys and child care articles at levels greater than 0.1% be made permanent because DINP “induces antiandrogenic effects in animals, although with lesser potency than other active phthalates, and therefore can contribute to the cumulative risk from other antiandrogenic phthalates.”
  • The current interim bans on di-n-octylphthalate (DNOP) and diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) be lifted because they do not appear to possess antiandrogenic potential but that U.S. agencies responsible for dealing with DNOP and DIDP exposures from food and child care products conduct the necessary risk assessments with a view to supporting risk management steps given other toxicological endpoints of concern.

Continue Reading Report on Phthalates Recommends Permanent Ban on DINP, Additional Permanent Bans on DIBP, DPENP, DHEXP, DCHP, and an Interim Ban on DIOP

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) just announced a giant leap forward in its effort to protect U.S. consumers against defective products manufactured in China. To combat the increasing frequency with which hazardous Chinese consumer products enter the United States, on January 10, 2011, the CPSC opened an office in China. The CPSC hopes that this new office will promote more effective communication with its Chinese counterpart – the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China (“AQSIQ”) – allowing the CPSC to adopt a proactive approach to product safety with respect to Chinese imports. The agency’s proactive and preventative approach to product safety should also benefit U.S.-based retailers who often bear the expense of recalling defective products that originate in China, yet are left without recourse against the products’ Chinese manufacturers.
Continue Reading The CPSC Leaps Into China