|
WASHINGTON (AP) - Dismayed by reports of millions of tainted toys, the House
neared a vote Wednesday to ban lead and other dangerous chemicals from toys
and other products that could wind up in kids' mouths.
The legislation also would toughen rules for testing children's products and
take steps to give more muscle to the Consumer Product Safety Commission,
which was criticized last year for its feeble handling of a flood of goods
from China deemed hazardous to children.
"Congress is about to sign off on the most comprehensive product safety
legislation in decades," said Dr. Diana Zuckerman, president of the National
Research Center for Women & Families.
The bill, a product of House-Senate negotiations, would ban lead in products
for children 12 or younger, and would ban - either permanently or pending
further study - six types of phthalates, which are chemicals that are found
in plastics and suspected of posing health risks.
House passage would send the measure to the Senate, which could approve it
before Congress leaves for its August recess at the end of this week. The
White House has voiced opposition to parts of the legislation but has not
threatened a veto.
The bill would require third-party testing for many children's products,
a key change in monitoring practices following a year in which 45
million toys and children's products - 30 million from China - were
recalled.
Those included lead-contaminated children's jewelry, "Spider-Man
3" flashing rings and Halloween pails.
"Third-party testing is a centerpiece of the new law" and a victory for
consumers, said Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director of U.S. PIRG, a
grass-roots environmental organization.
The bill would double the budget of the Consumer Product Safety Commission,
to $136 million by 2014, and give it new authority to impose civil penalties
on violators. The CPSC was founded in 1973 with a staff of about 800. It now
employs about half that number, while imports have vastly increased.
It also would boost whistleblower protections to encourage people to report
hazards to the CPSC and would direct the agency to set up a database where
consumers, government agencies, child care providers or doctors could report
incidents of injury, illness, death or risk related to products.
One of the more controversial provisions is the ban on six types of
phthalates, chemicals used in a wide range of products, including toys, to
make vinyl soft and flexible. Tests on rats have found links to possible
reproductive system problems for males and the onset of early puberty for
females, and the European Union has banned the six.
Ami Gadhia of Consumers Union said infants are exposed to phthalates through
toys, teethers and health care products. While there is no conclusive
evidence that the chemical causes health problems in humans, she said a
recent study found that mothers reported use of infant lotion, infant powder
and shampoo was significantly associated with phthalate urinary
concentrations.
But phthalates, said Sharon Kneiss of the American Chemistry Council, "are
an important part of our everyday lives. There is no scientific basis for
Congress to restrict phthalates from toys and children's products."
Under the new third-party testing regimen, a standards organization would
set up and run a mandatory protocol that testing labs would have to meet to
certify a product. No covered children's product or toy could be imported
without a certification mark. The CPSC has authority to approve and audit
the certifications.
The negotiators also resolved to make more products now covered by voluntary
industry standards subject to mandatory standards. That step added several
potential toy hazards, including goods containing small magnets that were
included in products recalled last year, subject to third-party testing
requirements.
Among other provisions, the bill requires the CPSC to adopt safety standards
on all-terrain vehicles and close a loophole where cribs sold secondhand
were not subject to the same standards as new cribs.
The bill is H.R. 4040
|
