Deep Breath.....CPSIA clarification for USED items

[zianuray]

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09086.html -Just Released:


NEWS from CPSC


U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207

------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2009
Release #09-086

*CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772*
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908


CPSC Clarifies Requirements of New Children’s Product Safety Laws
Taking Effect in February
/Guidance Intended for Resellers of Children’s Products, Thrift and
Consignment Stores/

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In February 2009, new requirements of the Consumer
Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) take effect. Manufacturers,
importers and retailers are expected to comply with the new
Congressionally-mandated laws. Beginning February 10, 2009, children’s
products cannot be sold if they contain more than 600 parts per million
(ppm) total lead. Certain children’s products manufactured on or after
February 10, 2009 cannot be sold if they contain more that 0.1% of
certain specific phthalates or if they fail to meet new mandatory
standards for toys.

Under the new law, children’s products with more than 600 ppm total lead
cannot lawfully be sold in the United States on or after February 10,
2009, even if they were manufactured before that date. The total lead
limit drops to 300 ppm on August 14, 2009.

The part I'm happy about (bolding and underscores mine):


The new law requires that domestic manufacturers and importers certify
that children’s products made after February 10 meet all the new safety
standards and the lead ban. Sellers of *used* children’s products, such
as thrift stores and consignment stores, are not required to certify
that those products meet the new lead limits, phthalates standard or new
toy standards.

The new safety law does not require resellers to test children’s
products in inventory for compliance with the lead limit before they are
sold. However, resellers cannot sell children’s products that exceed the
lead limit and therefore should avoid products that are likely to have
lead content, unless they have testing or other information to indicate
the products being sold have less than the new limit. Those resellers
that *do* sell products in violation of the new limits could face civil
and/or criminal penalties.

When the CPSIA was signed into law on August 14, 2008, it became
unlawful to sell recalled products. All resellers should check the CPSC
Web site (www.cpsc.gov <http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html>)
for information on recalled products before taking into inventory or
selling a product. The selling of recalled products also could carry
civil and/or criminal penalties.

The agency intends to focus its enforcement efforts on products of
greatest risk and largest exposure. While CPSC expects every company to
comply fully with the new laws resellers should pay special attention to
certain product categories. Among these are recalled children’s
products, particularly cribs and play yards; children’s products that
may contain lead, such as children’s jewelry and painted wooden or metal
toys; flimsily made toys that are easily breakable into small parts;
toys that lack the required age warnings; and dolls and stuffed toys
that have buttons, eyes, noses or other small parts that are not
securely fastened and could present a choking hazard for young children.

The agency has underway a number of rulemaking proposals intended to
provide guidance on the new lead limit requirements. Please visit the
CPSC website at www.cpsc.gov
<http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html> for more information.

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Send the link for this page to a friend! <javascript:send();> The U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public
from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of
types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. The CPSC is
committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a
fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC's work to
ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power
tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed
significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries
associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's
hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or
visit CPSC's web site at www.cpsc.gov/talk.html
<http://www.cpsc.gov/talk.html>. To join a CPSC email subscription list,
please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain
this release and recall information at CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov
<http://www.cpsc.gov>.
 
Now if they'd just figure out that  cottage industries are not such a huge threat.....