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Bipartisan Bill Aims To Ban Potentially Hazardous Water Beads Sold As Children’s Toys
May 9, 2024, NBC News
A bipartisan bill, named “Esther’s Law”, was introduced in the U.S. Senate. It proposes a ban on the sale of water beads designed or marketed as children’s toys, sensory tools or educational or art materials. The bill is sponsored by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) Bob Casey (D-PA) and Susan Collins (R-ME). “Parents buy toys and educational materials for their kids with the understanding those products are safe for their children. Sadly, with water beads that is just not the case,” Baldwin said in a statement. The bill instructs the CPSC to establish the ban, since the agency has the authority to outlaw hazardous products to protect the public.

New UL Report: How E-Bike Awareness Gaps And Behavior Increase Battery Fire Risks
May 7, 2024, KTLA News 5
UL Standards & Engagement released a report that reveals e-bike and e-scooter owners’ alarming misunderstanding of the lithium-ion batteries that power their devices and the fire threat that they pose. Further, the report identified a series of dangerous practices, from unsafe charging habits to blocking exit paths in the event of a fire. “The massive growth of the e-bike and e-scooter market has not been matched by consumer safety education on these devices,” said Sayon Deb, director of primary insights at UL Standards & Engagement. This report comes on the heels of UL Standards & Engagement’s April 19 update of UL 2272, the Standard for Electrical Systems for Personal E-Mobility Devices. Read the Report

How To Present To An Audience That Knows More Than You
May 8, 2024, Harvard Business Review
What happens when you have to give a presentation to an audience that might have some professionals who have more expertise on the topic than you do? While it can be intimidating, it can also be an opportunity to leverage their deep and diverse expertise in service of the group’s learning. This article offers several tips for how you might approach a roomful of experts, including how to invite them into the discussion without allowing them to completely take over. It also advises how to pivot on the proposed topic when necessary.

State Level PFAS Regulations Are Coming: Are You Ready?
May 9, 2024, JD Supra
As the Environmental Protection Agency expands its regulation of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a number of states have also taken steps to regulate the use, production, and sale of products containing PFAS. It is critical to understanding how a state defines PFAS and whether (and how) any of the requirements apply to your product. It’s complicated. Some states are legislating PFAS as a class using a very broad definition, while others are targeting specific PFAS chemicals. Commercial and industrial producers should be aware of any new obligations that may affect their business practices.

No, The Biden Administration Is Not Banning Portable Gas Generators
May 9, 2024, NBC News 12
Is the Biden administration banning portable gas-powered generators? In response to numerous carbon monoxide poisoning deaths and injuries caused by portable gas-powered generators, the Consumer Product Safety Commission proposed a rule in March 2023 that would regulate the carbon monoxide emissions and auto-shutoff sensitivity of new portable gas-powered generators. This regulation would not ban portable gas-powered generators, but would instead require manufacturers to meet new standards when manufacturing portable generators. The rule combines two preexisting industry standards that portable generator manufacturers can currently voluntarily follow.

Breaking Down Virginia Tech’s Helmet Ratings
May 7, 2024, SLOWTWITCH.com
By law, all bicycle helmets sold in the US must be certified by the Consumer Product Safety Commission If you look inside your helmet, you will find a sticker that attests to this certification. The CPSC testing is pass/fail and involves four tests, one of which is a drop test. The pass/fail threshold for the drop test is the point of skull fracture. As helmet consumers, all we know from the CPSC certification is that our helmet passed the minimum standard to be sold to us in the US and will hopefully prevent a skull fracture. However, we don’t know from the CPSC certification the extent to which any particular helmet reduces concussion risk. That’s where the Virginia Tech Lab comes in with much more involved and rigorous helmet testing.

$3.0m Available In Pool Safely Grants To Help Prevent Drownings And Drain Entrapment
May 10, 2024, cpsc.gov
The Consumer Product Safety Commission urges state, local, and tribal governments to apply for up to $3.0 million in grant funding for the Pool Safely Grant Program (PSGP or grant program). The two-year grants are to be used to reduce deaths and injuries from drowning and drain entrapment incidents in pools and spas. The PSGP is an essential part of CPSC’s national campaign to prevent drowning and drain entrapment. Drowning is one of the leading causes of death among young children. The grant awards will range from $50,000 to $400,000 each and is authorized through the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (VGB Act).

How Resale Marketplaces Safety-Check Hard Goods Like Car Seats & Strollers
May 8, 2024, Modern Retail
Resale marketplaces like The RealReal and StockX must verify and authenticate shoes, apparel and other soft goods on a daily basis. But for platforms that sell open-box or secondhand hard goods — many of which have safety risks or expiration dates — vetting products becomes a more high-stakes game. Selling hard goods, however, can be challenging. Compared to soft goods, hard goods may require more frequent manual vetting. Here’s how three resale platforms approach vetting their products to ensure they’re safe to use.

Mega-Tac Adhesive Recalled; Failure To Meet Poison Prevention Packaging Act; No Recall Or Remedy Offered
May 9, 2024, cpsc.gov
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning consumers to stop using Mega-Tac Permanent Adhesive, Silicon Liquid Glue. The glue bottles do not comply with the child-resistant packaging requirements under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA), posing a poisoning hazard to young children if ingested. CPSC issued a Notice of Violation to the importer Genesis Inc., of Puerto Rico, but the firm has not agreed to recall this product or offer a remedy to consumers. 

Commentary: Buying Fakes Hurts Americans, Helps Criminals
May 8, 2024, MyJournalCourier
Employees who make high-quality U.S. goods have to compete with reality TV, which is celebrating the counterfeit market that’s costing these workers jobs. Whether it’s name-brand jeans, designer handbags or a must-have child’s toy, there is a black market of counterfeits that pretend to be American-made products but are lower-quality knock-offs. For some shoppers, buying these fakes is a thrill. That’s the sentiment behind the ABC News Impact production picked up by Hulu: “Super Fakes: The Shadow World of Counterfeit Purses.” But whether it’s knockoff handbags or counterfeit car parts, the effects are the same: American workers lose market share, and American consumers wind up with potentially unsafe products.