CPSIA and Third-Party Testing in 2012

by Susan DeRagon

Product safety rules, bans, and standards have long been in place; these include the Flammable Fabrics Act (1953), the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (1960), and the Consumer Product Safety Act (1972). Compliance with these regulations has always been mandatory - but in most cases, proof of that compliance was not required. Companies essentially self-monitored themselves. Then came the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), which forever changed the landscape of consumer product testing.

In the summer of 2007, there was an unprecedented number of recalls - many involving toys with high levels of lead in paint. Lead in paint has been banned in the United States since 1978, yet it continued to show up on name-brand toys. Congress quickly took action to help ensure the safety of consumer products and enacted the CPSIA, which is implemented and enforced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

One of the major provisions of the CPSIA is that companies (domestic manufacturers or importers of foreign-made product) must now issue a certification of compliance for all products covered by the above-mentioned Federal regulations. For children's products, the certifications of compliance must be supported by third-party testing done by a CPSC-recognized accredited testing laboratory.

The laboratory accreditation requirements published thus far by the CPSC are ISO/IEC 17025, General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories, with the scope of this accreditation including the specific products and tests required by the CPSC. ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation must be provided by an ILAC-MRA accrediting body such as ACLASS. The CPSC website (http://www.cpsc.gov/) includes a list of all accredited CPSC-recognized laboratories worldwide.

The mandated third-party testing requirement is based on a timeline that has changed since the initial timeline in the Act, with the CPSC enacting several stays of enforcement for certain testing and certification requirements. As of December 31, 2011, the stays of enforcement will be lifted and third-party testing by a CPSC-recognized accredited laboratory becomes mandatory for essentially all toys and children's products. This includes lead content and phthalate testing - new requirements that were part of the CPSIA, and mandatory testing to ASTM F963, the Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety. The CPSC continues to evaluate various durable nursery products and establish mandatory safety standards for each product.

A full list of all CPSC-regulated children's products that will require third-party testing performed by a CPSC-recognized ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory follows. As indicated, the New Year rings in many of these requirements.

Regulation	Product	Effective Date
16 CFR 1203	Bicycle Helmets	2010/02/10
16 CFR 1215	Infant Bath Seats	2010/12/07
16 CFR 1216	Infant Walkers	2010/12/21
16 CFR 1217	Toddler Beds	2011/10/20
16 CFR 1219	Full-Size Cribs	2011/06/28
16 CFR 1220	Non-Full-Size Cribs	2011/06/28
16 CFR 1303	Lead Paint	2008/12/21
16 CFR 1420	All-Terrain Vehicles	2011/11/27
16 CFR 1500.86(a)(5)	Clacker Balls	2010/07/29
16 CFR 1500.86(a)(7), (8)	Dive Sticks and Similar	2010/02/10
16 CFR 1501	Small Parts	2009/02/15
16 CFR 1505	Electrically Operated Toys	2010/07/29
16 CFR 1510	Rattles	2010/02/10
16 CFR 1511	Pacifiers	2009/01/20
16 CFR 1512	Bicycles	2010/08/15
16 CFR 1513	Bunk Beds	2010/02/10
CPSIA	Phthalates	2011/12/31
CPSIA	Lead in Children's Metal Jewelry	2009/03/23
CPSIA	Lead in Children's Metal Products	2011/12/31
CPSIA	Lead in Children's Non-Metal Products	2011/12/31
16 CFR 1610	Flammability of Clothing Textiles	2010/11/17
16 CFR 1611	Flammability of Vinyl Plastic Film	2010/10/19
16 CFR 1615/1616	Flammability of Children's Sleepwear	2011/02/18
16 CFR 1630/1631	Flammability of Carpets and Rugs	2010/10/19
16 CFR 1632/1633	Flammability of Mattresses/Pads/Sets	2010/11/17
ASTM F963 Toy Safety Requirements
Section 4.27	Toy Chests	2011/12/31
Section 4.3.5.2	Surface Coating Materials	2011/12/31
Section 4.3.6.3	Liquids, Pastes, Putties, Gels…	2011/12/31
Section 4.3.7	Stuffing Materials	2011/12/31
Section 4.5	Sound Producing Toys	2011/12/31
Section 4.6	Small Objects	2011/12/31
Section 4.7	Accessible Edges	2011/12/31
Section 4.8	Projections	2011/12/31
Section 4.9	Accessible Points	2011/12/31
Section 4.10	Wires and Rods	2011/12/31
Section 4.11	Nails and Fasteners	2011/12/31
Section 4.12	Packaging Film	2011/12/31
Section 4.13	Folding Mechanisms and Hinges	2011/12/31
Section 4.14	Cords, Straps, and Elastics	2011/12/31
Section 4.15	Stability and Overload Requirements	2011/12/31
Section 4.16	Confined Spaces	2011/12/31
Section 4.17	Wheels, Tires, and Axles	2011/12/31
Section 4.18	Holes, Clearances, and… Mechanisms	2011/12/31
Section 4.19	Simulated Protective Devices	2011/12/31
Section 4.20.1	Pacifiers with Rubber Nipples	2011/12/31
Section 4.20.2	Toy Pacifiers	2011/12/31
Section 4.21	Projectile Toys	2011/12/31
Section 4.22	Teethers and Teething Toys	2011/12/31
Section 4.23.1	Rattles with nearly Spherical…Ends	2011/12/31
Section 4.24	Squeeze Toys	2011/12/31
Section 4.25	Battery-Operated Toys	2011/12/31
Section 4.26	Toys Intended to be Attached to a Crib…	2011/12/31
Section 4.27	Stuffed and Beanbag-Type Toys	2011/12/31
Section 4.30	Toy Gun Marking	2011/12/31
Section 4.32	Certain Toys with Spherical Ends	2011/12/31
Section 4.35	Pompoms	2011/12/31
Section 4.36	Hemispheric-Shaped Objects	2011/12/31
Section 4.37	Yo-Yo Elastic Tether Toys	2011/12/31
Section 4.38	Magnets	2011/12/31
Section 4.39	Jaw Entrapment in Handles…	2011/12/31

Accreditation requirements and effective dates for third-party testing for additional children's product safety rules will continue to be added. CPSC-recognized accredited testing laboratories such as UL-STR will continue to extend the scope of their current ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation to incorporate new requirements as they are added. For the toy industry, 2012 promises to be the year of third-party testing.

Susan DeRagon is Associate Director of Toys and Premiums at UL-STR in Enfield, CT. UL-STR provides testing, audit, certification, and responsible sourcing services for the consumer products industry. DeRagon can be reached at Susan.E.DeRagon@ul.com .