Congress Votes for Consumer Product Safety Reform
August 6, 2008 -- Much to the satisfaction of parents and consumer safety advocates, the U.S. Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act, H.R.4040, which calls for established consumer product safety standards and other safety requirements for children's products as well as the reauthorization and modernization of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The U.S. Senate passed the bill on July 31, 2008, by a vote of 89-3, just one day after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill by a vote of 424-1. The bill is now on its way to the president, who is expected to sign it into law in coming weeks.
In summary, the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act aims to make consumer products safer by banning harmful lead and phthalates in toys and by requiring that toys and infant products be tested by a third party laboratory to ensure they meet safety standards before they are sold. The bill also calls on the CPSC to establish a searchable database featuring reports of safety hazards presented by consumer products; nearly doubles the CPSC's budget to $156 million by 2015; increases the number of full-time personnel employed at the CPSC to at least 500 by 2013; and increases penalties for violating product safety laws; among other revisions.
CPSC Acting Chairman Nancy Nord made the following statement in response to the congressional passage of the bill:
In summary, the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act aims to make consumer products safer by banning harmful lead and phthalates in toys and by requiring that toys and infant products be tested by a third party laboratory to ensure they meet safety standards before they are sold. The bill also calls on the CPSC to establish a searchable database featuring reports of safety hazards presented by consumer products; nearly doubles the CPSC's budget to $156 million by 2015; increases the number of full-time personnel employed at the CPSC to at least 500 by 2013; and increases penalties for violating product safety laws; among other revisions.
CPSC Acting Chairman Nancy Nord made the following statement in response to the congressional passage of the bill:
"I appreciate and applaud the fact that Congress has given the Consumer Product Safety Commission many of the additional authorities and enforcement tools I requested last year...I intend to see to it that all the provisions in the legislation are implemented fully, fairly and in the way that best serves consumers. I look forward to continuing to work with Congress to secure the resources necessary for the CPSC to implement the bill and to further our goal of protecting American families."
Revisions in Action
Well before the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act was passed by Congress last week, a handful of toy manufacturers and retailers made improvements to enhance internal quality assurance and safety of children's products and toys. For example, Gerber stopped manufacturing toys from PVC (plastic with phthalates) as early as December 1998, even though the body of scientific evidence indicated that PVC products were safe at the time.
More recently, Toys"R"Us Inc. implemented additional safety standards for products sold in its stores, including increased third-party product testing, date-coding on all products and stringent guidelines for lead content in surface coatings and substrate materials. The company also alerted manufacturers that juvenile products sold in its stores must be produced without the addition of phthalates by the end of 2008.
In August 2007, and in light of the recalls and concerns over toy safety, Wal-Mart implemented a "Toy Safety Net" program to re-test toys on its shelves through independent labs, and work with industry representatives and policy makers on improving standards. In January 2008, Wal-Mart started sharing its new standards with all toy suppliers, which require them to reduce the level of certain phthalates in toys to a maximum of 0.1 percent. Wal-Mart also requires its suppliers adhere to a certain maximum level of lead in surface coatings on toys as well as lead in accessible components of a toy. It is also "recommended" that Wal-Mart suppliers date (or lot) code or stamp toy products to better enable traceability.