Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008

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Basic data
Title: Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008
Short title: Consumer Act
Abbreviation: CPSIA
Type:
Scope: United States
Enacted by the 110th United States Congress
Legal matter:
Issued on: March 6, 2008
Entry into force on: August 14, 2008
Weblink: https://www.cpsc.gov/Regulations-Laws--Standards/Statutes/The-Consumer-Product-Safety-Improvement-Act
Please note the note on the applicable legal version.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act ( CPSIA ) of 2008 is a law of the United States , which on 14 August 2008 by President George W. Bush signed. The bill was known as HR 4040, supported by Congressman Bobby Rush (D-Ill.). On December 19, 2007, the US House approved Law 407-0. On March 6, 2008, the US Senate passed Bill 79-13. The law - Public Law 110-314 - increases the budget of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), prescribes new testing and documentation requirements and sets new limit values ​​for several substances. It places new demands on manufacturers of clothing , shoes , personal care products , accessories and jewelry , home textiles , bedding , toys , electronics and video games , books , school supplies , educational materials and science equipment. The law also increases the fines and sets the prison term for some violations.

This law has been viewed as controversial in part because it affects many types of businesses .

An earlier, less far-reaching bill, the Lead-Free Toys Act (HR 3473, supported by Representative Henry Waxman ), was incorporated into this bill. The earlier bill was sparked by various scandals about high levels of lead in toys, including a December 2006 report by Waxman's showing high levels of lead in items sold in US Capitol gift shops .

criticism

The large and small manufacturers protested against the extremely short deadlines , the lack of consideration of manufacturing processes and the lack of consideration of the scope of the effects.

The Congress passed this bill, following several major recalls in 2007 and 2008 in China made toys. Although many of these were later revealed to be design rather than manufacturing issues, public pressure was heightened by at least one case of lead poisoning and subsequent issues with spoiled pet food and other products shipped from China. The legislation, HR 4040, was passed in July 2008 and put into effect by President Bush in August 2008. The first deadline was in September, and several important deadlines were added in February 2009.

The manufacturers point out that many of the affected products are already making their way through the supply chain . As a result, much of the stocks that were legal before the law was signed and made soon after will likely end up on store shelves as the deadlines get closer. The Natural Resources Defense Council and Public Citizen appear to agree that these products are already on sale , but believe that manufacturers should still be held liable. The problem is not the lead or phthalate levels as they suggest, but the fact that the products need to be tested to make sure they meet the requirements . There is also a lack of clarity about which products require a General Conformity Certificate (GCC) and which do not. They have not been tested because the articles generally do not contain any dangerous substances; CPSC has had a delay in defining some of the accreditation or testing criteria; some of the low volume, inexpensive items are not economical to test; and the batch tracking methods do not allow some of the items to be tracked.

Manufacturers also point out that even if they try to comply with the regulations, there are logistical issues. Companies with a wide variety of products will have difficulty selecting multiple samples of each item . Even if they can, there aren't enough test facilities to process the volume in a timely manner to meet the schedule.

Manufacturers also point out the difficulty and seemingly contradicting mandate of performing unit tests. For example, a clothing manufacturer might use a product like an organic cotton towel in conjunction with a few organic dyes and a closure like a button or zipper . These can be combined indefinitely and in different sizes. Testing of all end products usually does not provide more information than testing the individual components (or "constituent parts"), but it is much more expensive. In response to this criticism, the CPSC added rule 1109, known as the "Component Part Testing Rule" , which allows US importers to rely on a supplier to meet the test requirements as long as "due diligence" ( due care ) is applied to ensure that the supplier actually meets the requirements.

Final product testing can actually be counterproductive, for example when testing a button as part of a larger product. In component testing, the button would e.g. For example, lead will fail, but if mixed with the other materials, the total lead content of the mix may fall below what is required. Thus, the routine test would lead to the clearance certificate of a product even though it contains unsafe components.

Other manufacturers point out the problem of defining "children's products". Electronic products such as computer games could be considered a children's product and are therefore subject to these tests. Electronic products contain lead as part of the solder . While the European Directive on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances has long tried to withdraw lead solder, it is known that the tin solder suffers from a defect known as tin whiskers . This means that entire product classes may no longer be available because they are banned because they do not pass tests, because they are inferior to the component to be replaced or if the manufacturers withdraw from the market.

In addition, products such as "normal children's books" that never presented a health problem are included in the products to be tested and certified.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ HR 4040 (110th): Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. In: GovTrack.us. Civic Impulse, LLC, accessed December 6, 2008 .
  2. ^ Congress Passes Lead Free Toys Act. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, accessed August 6, 2010 .
  3. ↑ Mattel sorry for 'design flaws'. BBC, September 21, 2007, accessed February 21, 2009 .
  4. ↑ Chris Reidy: Reebok recalls bracelets after boy dies. In: Boston Globe. Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC, March 24, 2006, accessed December 6, 2008 .
  5. ^ Pet Food Recall (Melamine) / Tainted Animal Feed. US Food and Drug Administration , accessed December 6, 2008 .
  6. ↑ Melanie Trottman: Suit Challenges Agency Over Phthalates Ruling. In: The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc., December 5, 2008, accessed December 6, 2008 .
  7. ↑ a b Woldenberg, Rick: CPSC Public Hearing on lead standards. November 6, 2008, accessed November 7, 2008 .
  8. ↑ Kathleen Fasanella: CPSIA: Unit vs Component Testing. In: Fashion-Incubator.com. November 26, 2008, accessed October 21, 2019 .
  9. ^ Dodd, Quin: 5 Tips for Implementing a CPSC Compliance Program. In: blog entry. June 18, 2013, accessed October 23, 2019 .
  10. ↑ 16 CFR 1109. In: govinfo. US Government Publishing Office, August 1, 2011, accessed October 23, 2019 .
  11. ↑ CPSC Public Hearing on Lead Standards. US CPSC, November 6, 2008, accessed December 1, 2008 .