The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) was created in 1972 and till now, it has taken charge of protecting consumers against risks of injuries resulting from the use of consumer products. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) was signed into the United States law to reinforce any safety measures required in consumer products.
Most recently, through the law, the Commission has planned to further reduce children’s exposure to lead. Lead poisoning may cause irreversible brain damage, kidney problems and may even be fatal. Towards the end of the 1970s, the problem was so serious, that there were millions of children in the United States with elevated blood lead levels that were deemed unhealthy!
The CPSC noticed the severity of the situation and have concluded that any children’s product that contains more than 600 parts per million (ppm) of lead in any part of an accessible product would be deemed as hazardous. Which means that any children’s product from toys to baby nursery bedding which contains more than 600ppm would be dangerous for children under the CPSIA.
The CPSC has also defined that any individual younger than or at 12 years of age would be seen as children under the law and all products that were made with the intention of selling mainly to the these group of children will have to comply to it.
This law also applies to all baby nursery bedding, nursery decoration, toys and children’s products that were manufactured before the date of the law that was implemented. Besides the CPSC also requires all goods that were manufactured after 90 days since the creation of the rule to be assessed by an accredited third party. This is to assure that the manufacturers comply to the safety rules that the Commission has enforced.
Futhermore, the Commission has shown their determination in making all products non-toxic by planning to reduce the limits to 300ppm in August and further reduce it again in 2011 to a level which is seen reasonable according to the technology available by then. However, with the rapid advancement of technology, all toys and baby nursery bedding might contain only traces of lead and would be extremely safe for use in the near future.
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