The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008 is a United States law signed on August 14, 2008 by President George W. Bush.
[1] The law—public law 110-314—increases the budget of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), imposes new testing and documentation requirements, and sets new acceptable levels of several substances.
It imposes new requirements on manufacturers of apparel, shoes, personal care products, accessories and jewelry, home furnishings, bedding, toys, electronics and video games, books, school supplies, educational materials and science kits.
In determining whether a consumer product is primarily intended for a child 12 years of age or younger, the following factors will be considered: See 15 USC 2052 See also 16 CFR 1200.2(a) For the CPSC's detailed analysis about the four factors, see 16 CFR 1200.2(c) The legislation reduces the limit of lead allowed in surface coatings or paint to 90 ppm (from the current limit of 600 ppm) effective on August 14, 2009.
As of February 10, 2009, it shall be unlawful for any person to manufacture for sale, distribute in commerce, or import any children's toy or childcare article that contains the phthalates DEHP, DBP, or BBP at levels higher than 0.1 percent.
The legislation bans from any children's toy that can be put in a child's mouth or childcare articles phthalates DINP, DIDP, and DnOP at levels higher than 0.1% on an interim basis until a report from the Chronic Hazard Advisory Panel (CHAP) is received, after which the CPSC can continue the prohibition by rule.
[3] CPSC General Counsel Falvey provided an advisory opinion on October 17, 2008 that the phthalate ban does not apply to children's footwear.
However, the decision was challenged by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Public Citizen in the New York Southern District Court and set aside by Judge Paul Gardephe on February 5, 2009.
The purpose of the Act's whistleblower provision is to protect employees who do the right thing by speaking up when they believe their employer has violated a consumer product safety law.
[10] The Act imposes or increases both fines and jail time penalties, and mandates coordination with the CPSC when effecting a manufacturer's product recall.
Though many of these later turned out to be problems with design rather than manufacture,[11] public pressure was increased as the result of at least one case of lead poisoning[12] and subsequent issues with tainted pet food[13] and other products shipped from China.
The Natural Resources Defense Council and Public Citizen apparently agreed that these products were already in distribution, but believed that manufacturers should still be held liable.
When tested separately, the button would fail, but when mixed together with the other inputs, the final total lead content may fall below the standard.
This means that entire classes of products may become unavailable as manufacturers withdraw from the markets, banned as they are unable to pass tests, or defective as they substitute inferior components.
Larger manufacturers are faced with problems stemming from their leverage, from aspects of Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, from their visibility, and from the logistics of managing the testing of large varieties of products.
Because many of these loan agreements and all publicly traded companies require audited financial statements at the end of the year, inventories will be tested.
For public companies, it raises the issue of whether those officers are making false representations, introducing the specter of criminal liability under Sarbanes-Oxley.
[22] In early 2009, local media reported that children's clothes, books, toys, and other items were being removed from shelves at local stores - and in some of these cases even to the point of causing the entire store to close - in Wichita, Kansas,[23] Ionia, Michigan,[24] Conway, Arkansas,[25] Goldsboro, North Carolina,[26] Lincoln, Nebraska,[27] New York City, New York (NYC),[28] Rochester, New York,[29] Marshall, Minnesota,[30] Kailua, Hawaii,[31] New Port Richey, Florida,[32] and Tucson, Arizona.
[28] The enactment of the CPSIA banned the sale of youth motorcycles and ATVs because of the lead content of battery terminals and tire valve stems.