CPSC to Hold March 1 Symposium on Phthalates Screening & Testing
The Consumer Product Safety Commission will hold a symposium on phthalates screening and testing methods on March 1, 2012, in order to review available and emerging technologies for detecting phthalates and to stimulate discussion of technological needs to improve testing methods. According to CPSC, the CPSIA’s phthalate restrictions, coupled with its testing and certification requirements, have created challenges for manufacturers, retailers, and third party testing laboratories. The symposium will also be webcast.
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The March 1 Symposium on Phthalates Screening and Testing Methods will be held at the CPSC National Product Testing and Evaluation Center, in Rockville, Maryland. Individuals interested in serving on panels or presenting information at the symposium should register by February 9, 2012; all other individuals who wish to attend the symposium should register by February 24, 2012. Comments must be received by February 27, 2012. The symposium may be canceled if fewer than 15 individuals register.
CPSIA Permanently Bans 3 Phthalates in Toys, Child Care Articles
Section 108 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) (P.L. 110--314) permanently prohibits the sale of any ‘‘children’s toy or child care article’’ containing more than 0.1 percent of each of three specified phthalates: (1) di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), (2) dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and (3) benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP).
Also Temporarily Bans 3 Phthalates in Mouthable Toys, Child Care Articles
Section 108 of the CPSIA also prohibits on an interim basis, the sale of any ‘‘children’s toy that can be placed in a child’s mouth’’ or ‘‘child care article’’ containing more than 0.1 percent of each of three additional phthalates: (1) diisononyl phthalate (DINP), (2) diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP), and (3) di-noctyl phthalate (DNOP).
Screening and Testing Topics to be Addressed at Symposium
- Methods for increased quality control, from the manufacturing process to testing a final product;
- Available chemical analysis instrumentation and techniques, including infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermal Desorption, Direct Analysis Real Time Mass Spectrometry (DART--MS), and Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS);
- Advantages and limitations of available technology; and
- Emerging organic chemical detection and quantification technologies.
CPSC states it will prepare a detailed agenda based on scheduled presenters and expected attendance, and will make the agenda available on its Web.
(Section 14(a)(2) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), as amended by the CPSIA (15 USC 2063(a)(2)) establishes testing requirements for children’s products that are subject to a children’s product safety rule.
Section 3(a)(2) of the CPSA as amended (15 USC 2052(a)(2)) defines a ‘‘children’s product’’ as a consumer product designed or intended primarily for children 12 and younger.
Section 14(a)(2)(A) of the CPSA as amended also states that, before a children’s product that is subject to a children’s product safety rule is imported for consumption or warehousing or distributed in commerce, the manufacturer or private labeler of such children’s product must submit sufficient samples of the children’s product, ‘‘or samples that are identical in all material respects to the product,’’ to an accredited ‘‘third party conformity assessment body’’ to be tested for compliance with the children’s product safety rule.
Based on such testing, the manufacturer or private labeler, under section 14(a)(2)(B) of the CPSA as amended, must issue a certificate that certifies that such children’s product complied with the children’s product safety rule based on the assessment of a third party conformity assessment body (test lab) accredited and CPSC-approved to perform such tests.)
See notice for full registration and other details.
CPSC contact: Matthew Dreyfus (301) 987--2094, mdreyfus@cpsc.gov.