CPSC Receives Petition Requesting Ban on Certain Lead Toy Jewelry
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has received a petition from the Sierra Club requesting that any toy jewelry containing more than 0.06% lead by weight, for which there is a reasonably foreseeable possibility that children could ingest, be declared a banned hazardous substance under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA).
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The Sierra Club also stated that a 0.06% level may not be low enough to protect children and should be an interim step until a determination of a more appropriate cutoff is made.
According to the Sierra Club, "toy jewelry" is any item that serves a decorative purpose, but no or minimal functional purpose, that is valued at less than $20 per item. It claims that people are less likely to store such low-cost jewelry in secure containers or out of reach from children.
CPSC Also Requested to Revise its 1998 Guidance Policy on Lead
The Sierra Club also petitioned the CPSC to revise its December 22, 1998 "Codification of Guidance Policy on Lead in Consumer Products" to reflect the latest science regarding lead poisoning. The CPSC states that the "scientific community generally recognizes a level of 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood as a threshold level of concern with respect to lead poisoning. To avoid exceeding that level, young children should not chronically ingest more than 15 micrograms of lead per day from consumer products." The Sierra Club states that the U.S Center for Disease Control (CDC) concluded that this 10 micrograms level was intended to trigger prevention activities, and has been misinterpreted as a definitive toxicologic threshold.
Petition to EPA Also Submitted
The Sierra Club also petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to require producers, importers and processors of lead and its salts reasonably likely to be incorporated into consumer products to provide the EPA with health and safety studies on their products, and that the EPA report risks posed by lead to children to the CPSC.
It further petitioned that the EPA adopt a Significant New Use Notification Rule, pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 5, requiring any business manufacturing or importing toy jewelry containing lead at levels greater than 0.06% by weight to provide advance notice of its action. While this action would not prevent the importation or manufacture of lead-containing toy jewelry, it would allow EPA to be aware of the pending action and take appropriate action.
In addition, the Sierra Club petitioned the EPA to work with CPSC to identify the manufacturer or processor that produces any toy jewelry with more than 0.06% lead by weight and if the EPA identifies any such manufacturer or processor, the EPA should immediately issue Section 6(b) quality control orders requiring the manufacturer or processor to modify its quality control procedures to the extent necessary to remedy the inadequacy.
- written comments due by August 21, 2006
CPSC contact - Rockelle Hammond (301) 504-7923
CPSC Notice, FR Pub 06/20/06, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/pdf/E6-9658.pdf
Sierra Club Petition to CPSC, EPA (dated 04/17/06) available at http://www.cpsc.gov/LIBRARY/FOIA/FOIA06/petition/leadApr17.pdf