Consumer Product Safety Commission CPSC

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Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

• Independent regulatory agency
• 15,000 different consumer products

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CPSC

• Authorizing legislation
• Consumer Product Safety Act (1972)
• to protect the public against unreasonable
  risks of injuries and deaths associated with
  consumer products
• help consumers evaluate comparative safety
• develop uniform safety standards and minimize
  conflicting state and local regulations
• promote research and investigation into causes
  and prevention of deaths, illnesses and
  injuries

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CPSC

• Chairman, appointed by the President
• Four other commissioners Headquartered in
  Bethesda, MD with three regional offices

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CPSC

• Has authority to
• Set mandatory standards
• Specification safety standards
• Performance safety standards
• Ban products
• Order recalls
• Institute labeling requirements

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Major Program Areas in CPSC

• Hazard Identification and Reduction
• Collect and analysis consumer injury and death
  data
• Take that data and develop solutions
• Compliance and Enforcement
• Promotes industry compliance, litigation
• Information and Public Affairs

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CPSC Resources

• Financial Resources
• Request for FY00 is 56.7 million and 492 FTEs
• Since 1981 the CPSCs budget has decreased by
  half also has fared better recently than in the
  1980s

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Advocates of Product Safety

• Consumer Organizations
• Consumer Federation of America
• Consumers Union
• U.S. Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs)

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Major Legislation Enforced

• Consumer Product Safety Act (1972)
• Sets out jurisdiction, powers, structure, and
  organization

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Major Legislation Enforced

• Federal Hazardous Substances Act (1960)
• requires precautionary (warning) labeling of
  hazardous household chemical products
• also includes toys and other products intended
  for children that present electrical, mechanical
  or thermal hazard
• allows CPSC to regulate toys, cribs, rattles,
  pacifiers, walkers, etc.

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Major Legislation Enforced

• Poison Prevention Packaging Act (1970)
• established child-resistant packaging standards
  to address the risk to children from ingestion of
  hazardous household substances must use
  child-resistant packaging UNLESS also make a
  package not child-resistant and properly labeled
• includes medicine, household cleaners, and
  chemicals, but not aerosol and metal containers

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Major Legislation Enforced

• Flammable Fabrics Act (1953)
• a minimal standard of flammability for textiles
  used in wearing apparel and fabrics which are so
  highly flammable as to be dangerous when worn by
  individuals
• Very active in childrens sleepwear

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Major Legislation Enforced

• Refrigerator Safety Act (1956)
• requires mechanism that enables door to be opened
  from the inside in the event of accidental
  entrapment
• any refrigerator made before 1958 must be
  child-proof

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Major Legislation Enforced

• Fire Safe Cigarette Act (1990)
• cigarette-ignited fires are the leading cause of
  fire deaths in the United States
• Following the Cigarette Safety Act of 1984
  requires standard test method to determine
  likelihood cigarettes will start a fire and
  conduct studies

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Major Legislation Enforced

• Child Safety Protection Act (1994)
• Requires toys with small parts intended for
  children 3-5 to bear prominent warning of choking
  hazard
• Requires CPSC to develop uniform standard for
  bike helmets new mandate became effective in
  February 1999

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Other Areas of CPSC Rules

• Five-gallon buckets must have warning labels
• Public playground voluntary standards
• Upholstered furniture
• Baby walkers
• Drawstrings on childrens clothing, window blind
  cords

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CPSC Legal Tools

• Requires pre-market notification (but NOT
  pre-market clearance) of new products
• Voluntary and mandatory product standards
• Voluntary and involuntary product recalls - some
  destroyed, some repaired
• Cease and desist orders
• Civil penalties

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Fast-Track Recalls

• Speeds up the recall process
• Begun in August 1985 now used for about one-half
  of recalls
• Works with voluntary recalls only

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Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

• Current Issues
• Ongoing recall program strollers, cribs, bunk
  beds, halogen torchiere floor lamps
• Reductions in
• childrens head injury rate
• deaths by fire
• deaths among children from poisonings
• deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning
• deaths from electrocutions

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Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

• Current Issues contd
• Sports injuries
• Fire injuries and deaths
• Protection for vulnerable populations
• People speaking English as a second language
• People with disabilities
• People at lower economic levels
• Children
• Elderly

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Challenges the CPSC faces

• Lack of voluntary reporting
• Government directs agency via legislation that
  CPSC must implement
• Criticized for hasty and unnecessary recalls but
  must act quickly
• Lack of adequate resources
• Become more visible and important