Don't let them hijack safety -- attempts to gut CPSC funding for critical safety measures

Amendments to vital funding measures are currently being considered in the US House of Representatives that would gut key safety provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. Under threat is the funding for the public database that is set to help consumers learn of and report unsafe products and the third-party testing provisions that are helping to ensure the safety of toys and other children's products.

Without third-party testing to ferret out design flaws and other safety issues, the tough new mandatory standards won't mean much. After all, a ban was in place before the avalanche of toys recalled for lead paint in 2007 -- but with no independent testing, the tainted products were sold to our children anyway.

Without this public database, all of our efforts to make information about unsafe products available to the public will be undermined. The status quo, where public safety information is sealed away in CPSC files, serves no one -- except those making dangerous products. The CPSC database contains an array of protections to ensure that inaccurate information does not get published. Anonymous complaints will not be permitted, and only safety-related information will be permitted. Complaints will not even be considered for publication if 8 specific minimum fields are not filled out. Businesses also get to see every report of harm before it is placed in the database, and have the opportunity to correct inaccurate information and to provide their own comments. These protections are in place to provide transparency for consumers, while also providing protections for manufacturers.

Read this letter from Lisa Olney, whose daughter Ellie was killed in an unsafe portable crib for a personal testament to the importance of this database.

And don't be fooled -- the small amount this will save won't balance the budget -- these cuts are specifically targeted to stop safety measures already approved by Congress.

Contact your representatives immediately to tell them to oppose these attempts to hijack safety and to put the safety of our children first. The amendments to the Continuing Resolution (CR) are filed by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) and are #545 (defunds the Database), #546 (defunds work to set rules for third party testing) and #547 (defunds CPSC's ability to accredit labs for third party testing for phthalates and toy testing) Click here to find and contact your representative!

UPDATE: Amendment 545 is up for discussion today! Call or email your Congressional Representative. Click here to find and contact your representative!

CPSC extends stay for testing for lead in children's products

Last week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission voted to lift the stay on testing requirements for some products, including rattles, bike helmets and bunk beds when it expires on February 10, 2010, but will continue the stay for another year on most children's products for third party testing for lead. CPSC also voted to allow an interim enforcement policy that allows component testing for lead, giving some relief to small batch manufacturers. The what and when of stay or no stay is a little confusing..so I'd refer you all to CPSC's very clear chart which lays it all out. Thoughts?

High lead levels found in children's products sold in California

The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) in California recently reported on the testing of 250 children's products, finding high lead levels in seven of the items. These include Barbie, Disney, and Dora brands. While the number of products found containing high lead levels has decreased from last year, the high amounts of lead found is disturbing. Of the seven products found to contain higher-than-legal lead levels, the range of lead levels varied from twice the legal limit to 65 times the legal limit.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown has released a letter to the retailers of these items (including Target, Walgreens, Sears, and TJ Maxx) notifying them that his office will be enforcing lead standards. The testing commissioned by CEH was funded by a grant from the California Attorney General.

At a town meeting on toy safety in New York, Inez Tenenbaum, Chairman of the CPSC, stated that the decrease in numbers of toys with high lead levels this year is a result of tougher lead standards in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. Michael Green, Executive Director of CEH, stated that parents should remain aware this holiday season that some children's products contain high lead levels and called for manufacturers and retailers to do more to protect children from this hazard.

The lead provisions in the CPSIA have gone into effect, but the testing requirement was stayed by the CPSC until at least February 2010.

CPSC signs lease on new testing facility

The CPSC has signed a lease on a new facility to bring all their engineers and scientific staff together under one roof. The new facility, in Rockville, MD, will open gradually over the next year.