CPSC Postpones Testing and Certification Requirements for Some

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently voted to extend the stay of enforcement of certification and testing requirements for certain children’s products.  The stay is extended differently depending upon how the CPSC viewed the ability to comply and whether the CPSC is still in the process of issuing requirements and rules.  For some children’s products, the stay will not be extended.  As before, companies are still required to comply with the new safety regulations; the stay only applies to third party testing and certification.

Because of the recent meeting and vote, there will not be another vote to lift the stay on or prior to February 10, 2010.  To understand why the stay was originally put in place read our earlier blog post about the January 2009 stay and what it means to manufacturers and retailers.

Lead-Content Testing and Certification — Stay Extended One Year
The CPSC commissioners voted to extend the stay of enforcement on testing and certification requirements for lead content in children’s products one more year until February 10, 2011.  This is in contrast to the earlier deadline proposed in the staff briefing package, which called for the stay to be lifted August 10, 2010. ((The briefing package no longer appears available on the CPSC website.  The ballot vote sheet appears to have replaced the briefing package, using the same web address. If we are able to locate a copy of the original brifing in the future, we will include a link here.))  Despite the August date in the briefing package, the Commissioners settled on a later date after the lead content vote was delayed one day and decoupled from other issues.

Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said she voted to extend the stay on lead content testing and certification to February 10, 2011 “in order to allow component testing adequate time to develop and to give our stakeholders adequate notice of new requirements.”  On Commissioner Nancy Nord’s blog, she wrote that the stay was needed “because the deadlines set out in the CPSIA were wildly unrealistic and their enforcement would have resulted in even more chaos in the marketplace than we have already seen over the past year, without increasing safety.”

This stay does not alter the fact that products must comply with lead limit rules, it only relates to certification and testing requirements.  As stated in our earlier article explaining the Lead and Phthalate Bans, as of August 14, 2009 products intended for children twelve and under cannot contain lead (in paint or otherwise) in excess of 300ppm (parts per million) and for paint or surface coatings (on children’s product and, for example, furniture) products cannot contain paint in excess of 90ppm.  There are some exceptions, like for electronics components, such as cathode ray tubes, and some electronics components of children’s products.

Bicycles Testing and Certification — Stay Extended Six Months
For both children’s and non-children’s bicycles the stay on third party testing and certificates will remain in effect until May 17, 2010 due to insufficient testing capacity at accredited labs.  The stay may be extended again for bicycles if manufacturers and labs request additional relief by April 1, 2010.

Certain Other Products — Stay Extended for Unknown Period
The following children’s products will have a stay of enforcement on third party testing and certification in effect while the CPSC continues to review labs and rule on further regulations:

• Baby walkers
• Bath seats
• Caps and toy guns
• Carpets and rugs
• Children’s sleepwear (the stay does not extend to guarantees under the Flammable Fabrics Act)
• Children’s toys and child care articles with banned phthalates
• Children’s toys subject to ASTM’s F-963 toy safety standard
• Clacker balls
• Durable infant products
• Electrically operated toys
• Vinyl plastic film
• Wearing apparel (the stay does not extend to guarantees under the Flammable Fabrics Act)
• Youth all-terrain vehicles (ATVs)
• Youth mattresses

The following non-children’s products will continue to have a stay of enforcement on general certificate of conformity (GCC) requirements in effect until further notice:

• Carpets and rugs
• Vinyl plastic film
• Wearing apparel

The stay may be lifted for these products on a rolling basis.  If the stay extension is predicated on current lack of accreditation requirements, as is the case for youth ATVs and youth mattresses, importers and domestic manufactures will have 90 days to comply upon the publication of such requirements.  Additionally, importers and domestic manufacturers are reminded that any testing and certification still is required for the above products to the extent that such testing and certification were required prior to the CPSIA, or for which accreditation requirements had been established before the stay of August 9, 2009.

Various Products — Stay NOT Extended
In addition to any testing and certification that was required prior to the CPSIA, third party testing by a CPSC recognized laboratory and certification will be required for the following children’s products manufactured after February 10, 2010:

• Bicycle helmets
• Bunk beds
• Dive sticks
• Rattles

A general certificate of conformity (GCC) that shows CPSC compliance will be required for the following non-children’s consumer products manufactured after February 10, 2010 (in addition to any certifications related to preexisting requirements):

• Architectural glazing materials
• ATVs
• Candles with lead wicks
• CB antennas
• Cellulose insulation
• Cigarette lighters
• Contact adhesives (subject to ban on “extremely flamable”)
• Fireworks
• Garage door openers
• Household furniture subject to lead paint regulations
• Lawnmowers
• Matchbooks
• Mattresses
• Multipurpose lighters
• Paint
• Portable gas containers
• Products subject to regulations under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA)
• Refrigerator door latches
• Swimming pool slides
• Unstable refuse bins

Watch the briefing and meeting held on December 16, 2009.