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Summary of Recent CPSC Actions/Activities (December 22, 2009)
Commission Action on the Stay of Enforcement of Testing and Certification Requirements
On December 18, 2009, the CPSC announced its decision to revise the terms of the stay of enforcement of certain testing and certification requirements. The stay was originally enacted on Feb. 9, 2009, and would remain in effect until Feb. 10, 2010. The following summary outlines the changes to the original stay. This document does not contain all details but only those that pertain directly to the graphic communications industry.
The Commission’s decision will phase in the testing and certification requirements described in the follow paragraphs.
The stay of enforcement will be lifted for the following items:
- Bicycle Helmets
- Bunk Beds
- Rattles
Further, the stay of enforcement will be lifted on Feb. 10, 2010 regarding the following rules applicable to non-children’s products:
- Ban on Lead-In-Paint in paint and on furniture
- Ban on extremely flammable contact adhesives
- Requirements for child-resistance on portable gas containers
- Regulation for special packaging required under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act
- Ban of unstable refuse bins
- Standard for refrigerator door latches
For children’s products in these categories, they are now subject to the third party testing requirement and the manufacturer’s certification must be based on results of tests conducted by a CPSC recognized third party laboratory. For non-children’s products, lifting the stay means that the product is subject to the certification requirements.
The stay will remain in effect for the testing of metal and non-metal children’s products for lead content by a recognized third party laboratory will remain in effect. The CPSC intends for testing for these children’s products to begin on products manufactured after Feb. 10, 2011. This allows CPSC staff time to allow component testing to form the basis of the certifications as well as to complete an interpretative rulemaking to define the term “children’s product.” More information on the component testing issue is presented in the next section of this summary document.
The Commission has further identified groups of products for which the stay of enforcement applies:
- Carpets and rugs
- Vinyl Plastic film
- Wearing Apparel
- Caps and Toy Guns
- Phthalates (Section 108 of the CPSIA)
- ASTM F963, consumer specifications for toy safety
- Baby Walkers
- Bath seats
- Children’s Sleepwear
- Electronic Toys
- Durable infant products
Once the Commission has completed its rulemakings associated with these aforementioned products, then testing and certification would be required. It must be stressed that any other testing that has been in place pre-CPSIA for these product categories remains. For example, for wearing apparel, the continuation of the stay of enforcement does not extend to guarantees provided under the Flammable Fabrics Act.
Component Testing for both Lead In Paint and Total lead limit for children’s products
On December 15, 2009, the CPSC issued an interim enforcement policy regarding the use of component testing to ensure that children’s products comply with either the lead-in paint limit of 90 parts per million or the total lead content limit of 300 parts per million.
Lead-In-Paint
On August 14, 2009, the limit for lead-in-paint dropped from 600 parts per million (ppm) to 90 ppm. This limit not only applies to paint sold to consumers but to paints on toys and other articles for children, as well as paint on certain household furniture (16 CFR Part 1303). Any children’s product that bears paint and is manufactured after August 14, 2009 must be certified, through a third party CPSC recognized laboratory. Testing and certification requirements for paint used on non-children’s products were included in the original stay of enforcement. However, as of Feb. 10, 2010, this stay will be lifted, and products manufactured after this date will have to be certified to the new 90 ppm limit based on a test of each product or a reasonable testing program.
The interim guidance permits certification of a children’s product as being in compliance with the 90 ppm lead in paint limit as long as the manufacturer of the children’s product obtains a test report from their supplier for the paint used. The certificate must identify the corresponding test report or certificate on which the product certification is based. These test reports must be from a third party CPSC recognize laboratory.
Further the test reports must be conducted on the paint as it is used on the final product. So, if additives are routinely used, then the test sample must reflect this final product used by the manufacturer.
For consumer products that are not children’s products, the manufacturer may base its certification to the 90 ppm lead in paint limit based on it’s only testing program; testing by any third party laboratory; or on testing certificates issued by its suppliers.
Component testing for Children’s Products
Until the Commission has released it’s rule on component testing, CPSC will accept certification of a children’s product as being in compliance with the 300 ppm lead limit if, for each accesbile component, based on component testing. This testing can be carried out either by the manufacturer or the supplier of the component materials.
Both of these testing protocols must be carried out by a recognized third party CPSC approved laboratory. The test reports must identify each component tested, as well as the manufacturer or supplier of the component. The sample tested must be representative of the component used in the final product, but does not have to be the same size, shape or finish condition. The CPSC cautions manufacturers who use component testing to take care to not introduce lead from an untested source.
It is the intent of the CPSC to issue final regulations regarding the specific use of component testing as it relates to the testing and certification requirements under the CPSIA.
CPSC allows component testing for Compliance with Phthalate Ban
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a Statement of Policy that will allow the use of
component testing to comply with Section 108 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. Under this policy, CPSC specifically states that textiles made from natural fibers and from common synthetic fibers do not normally contain phthalates and therefore might not require testing and certification under Section 108.
However, the CPSC does indicate that ink systems may contain plasticizers and as such, must be tested according to the test method, CPSC-CH-C1001-09.2. Please be advised that even though your product may not need to be tested and certified under Section 108, you still need to comply with Section 103, Tracking Labels.
CPSIA Tracking Label Provisions Go Into Effect
In July, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued guidance to those impacted by the tracking label provision of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. Section 103(a) of the CPSIA requires manufacturers to place permanent, distinguishing marks on children’s products and their packaging to the extent practicable. This provision of the CPSIA indicates, applies only to products manufactured on or after August 14, 2009.
Please click here for a complete copy of the CPSC’s tracking label guidance document. SGIA has also prepared the following FAQ document for its members regarding CPSIA provisions. For questions, please contact Marci Kinter.
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SGIA Resources for CPSIA Compliance
To understand the implications of this important legislation, SGIA has the following resources available to you:
CPSIA Fact Sheet – A quick overview of the new law
CPSIA: Are you in Compliance?
CPSIA Update Webinar - July, 2009 
Consumer Product Safety Information Act Webinar - February 09, 2009
Consumer Product Safety Information Act of 2008
SGIA Blog
Your feedback about the new CPSIA legislation can help the greater specialty imaging community — post your comments on SGIA’s community Blog and share your experiences as you work to comply with the new rules.
Join SGIA’s listserv on this important topic and receive timely updates! Send an email to govt@sgia.org.
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