CPSC Votes Oct 12 on New Testing, Certifying & Labeling Rules, Reducing Test Costs
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is scheduled to vote on October 12, 2011 on four significant and related draft notices on testing, certification, and labeling of consumer products. A live webcast of the meeting will be able to be viewed here.
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(It has been suggested that the recent increase in CPSC activity may be due to Commissioner Moore’s term end at the end of October, increasing the likelihood of tied votes after that date. See ITT’s Online Archives 11092707 for summary.)
Final Rule on Kid Product Testing Every 1-3 Yrs Has All-Product Label Option, Etc
The first is a final rule that as drafted, would establish testing requirements for the initial certification of children’s products, periodic testing every one to three years thereafter (depending on the procedures opted for), testing after a material change (including a sourcing change), and safeguarding against undue influence on a third-party lab. It would also establish a voluntary program to label children’s and non-children’s consumer products as complying with applicable CPSC requirements. (See ITT’s Online Archives [11092610] for summary of the draft version.)
(CPSC has at times referred to this rulemaking as the “15 month” rule since it was meant to be issued 15 months after enactment of the CPSIA -- or by November 2009.)
Final Rule Would Allow Importers to Use Others’ Part/Finished Product Certifications
As drafted, the second final rule would provide an option for domestic manufacturers and importers, who must certify finished consumer products as complying with CPSC requirements (both initially and/or as part of continued product testing for children’s products), to base their certificates on one or more of the following: (a) component part test reports; (b) component part certification; (c) another party’s finished product testing; or (d) another party’s finished product certification. (See ITT’s Online Archives 11092718 for summary of the draft version of the final rule.)
Notice on Reducing Test Costs Could Trim CPSIA Testing Rules
The third notice would seek comments on ways to reduce the cost of children’s product third-party testing under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), as long as they are consistent with ensuring product safety compliance. This comment request, which is required by H.R. 27151, could conceivably change some of the testing requirements laid out in some of the other notices. The draft asks seven broad questions on ways to reduce CPSIA testing costs, including possible modification of certification for similar products, testing subsets of components, etc. (See ITT’s Online Archives 11092920 for summary of the draft.)
Proposed Rule Would Require Representative Instead of Random Sample Tests
The fourth is a proposed rule which, as drafted, would provide for the testing of representative (instead of random) samples to ensure continuing compliance of children’s products with all applicable children’s product safety rules. According to staff, H.R. 27151 amended this CPSIA provision by substituting the term “representative” for the term “random” in describing the samples that must be tested. The proposed rule also would establish a recordkeeping requirement associated with the testing of representative samples. (See ITT’s Online Archives 11092264 for summary announcing CPSC’s consideration of the draft proposed rule.)
1H.R. 2715 revised aspects of the CPSIA and became Public Law 112-28 on August 12, 2011. (See ITT’s Online Archives 11080230, for summary of H.R. 2715.)
(FR Pub 10/06/11)