The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) was formed in the 1970s and for more than 30 years, it has taken the responsibility of safeguarding consumers against the dangers of suffering injuries that results from the use of consumer products. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) was signed into the United States law to further strengthen the safety measures required in consumer products.
Most recently, through the law, the Commission has planned to further reduce children’s exposure to lead. Lead poisoning may result in irreversible brain damage, kidney problems and may even be fatal. Towards the end of the 1970s, the problem was so serious, that millions of children in America had been tested that they had elevated blood lead levels that were deemed unhealthy!
The Commission observed the graveness of the situation and have concluded that any children’s product that contains more than 600 parts per million (ppm) of lead in any part of an accessible product would be seen as dangerous. Which means that any children’s product from toys to baby nursery bedding which contains more than 600ppm would be dangerous for children under the CPSIA.
The CPSC has also defined that any person at the age of 12 years or younger would be seen as children under the law and all products that were made with the objective of marketing predominantly to these group of children will have to adhere to it.
This law also applies to all baby nursery bedding, nursery decoration, toys and children’s products that were manufactured before the date of the law that was implemented. The Commission also requires all goods that were manufactured after 90 days since the establishment of the rule to be tested by an accredited third party. This is to assure that the manufacturers comply to the safety regulations that the Commission has implemented.
Futhermore, the Commission has shown their determination in making all products extremely safe for use by intending to drop the limits to 300ppm in August and further reduce it again in 2011 to a level which is seen reasonable according to the technology available by then. However, with the rapid advancement of technology, all toys and baby nursery bedding might contain only traces of lead and would be extremely safe for use in the near future.