Proposition 65 receives oversight hearing
September 8, 2017, Northern California Record
California Assemblyman Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) recently convened a panel of experts to take about Proposition 65 at an environmental safety and toxic materials (ESTM) oversight hearing that also touched upon new changes to the 30-year law that are slated to take effect in 2018. Experts from different industries discussed the impact, good and bad, of the initiative aimed at reducing the levels of toxic chemicals released into the atmosphere since first being implemented in 1986.
Dozens suffer carbon monoxide poisoning from generator use following Irma
September 14, 2017, Fox News
Hurricane Irma caused widespread extended power outages throughout Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. The power outages have sparked an increase in generator use in the affected areas that has resulted in dozens of carbon monoxide poisoning incidents following Irma. One person died and three more people were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator inside a Daytona home. Three people died and four more were injured due to carbon monoxide poisoning in Orange County, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Acting Chairman Ann Marie Buerkle’s statement on Hurricane Irma
September 8, 2017, cpsc.gov
Acting Chairman Buerkle notes that this is a challenging time for our nation, in the midst of an active and dangerous hurricane season. While extending thoughts and prayers for those affected by Harvey and Irma as well as the first responders, she also reminds consumers that preparing for the hurricane’s aftermath is extremely critical.
Technology recalls surge as regulation can’t keep up with product innovation
September 11, 2017, IT ProPortal
Whether it’s a cutting-edge gadget, an exciting software platform, or an advanced appliance, the latest technologies to hit the market can create a consumer and business buying frenzy. They can fully meet with expectations and they can turn out to be a passing fad, but on occasion, they can also present possible dangers, particularly if they bypass strict health and safety regulations for the country in which they are being sold.
How the CPSC keeps consumers safe from products that get recalled
September 9, 2017, cnbc
If a product is shown to have a substantial hazard, it can be subject to recall. Consumers purchase millions of dollars of product that is later recalled every year. Up to 400 products are recalled yearly by Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a government agency that oversees products consumers use every day. The relatively obscure agency has control over 15,000 products, ranging from everything to toys, electronics, off road vehicles and bike helmets.
Coffee could soon come with a Surgeon General’s warning
September 8, 2017, Los Angeles Times
Trouble is brewing in the courtrooms of Los Angeles – coffee, our country’s caffeinated favorite, could soon come with a cigarette-like cancer warning under California’s Proposition 65 provisions. The little-known Council for Education and Research on Toxics (CERT) sued around 70 coffee companies for not including warning labels on a product that contains carcinogens, and the 7-year-old suit finally kicked off in court this week.
New survey ranks California’s lawsuit climate 47 worst in the nation
September 11, 2017, Northern California Record
Litigation over a small businessman’s pursuit of the perfect kitty litter scoop is one example of why the lawsuit climate in California continues to rank low compared to other states, according to a recent survey. “No one is actually accusing your product of harming anyone,” Chuck Firth, the creator of the popular DuraScoop kitty litter scooper, said in a video by Faces of Lawsuit Abuse, a project of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, which owns this publication. “They’re just saying, ‘You didn’t put a warning label on it.'”
Your Company Brand and Ethical Behavior
September 13, 2017, JDSupra
The reality of today is that a company doing business with ethical behavior and having an ethical culture is a market differentiator. It can not only drive customer behavior in a positive manner but equally significantly millenniums place large stock in companies which are seen to do the right thing. It has led to an expectation that companies will do the right thing. Clearly, this is not something which happens overnight but having an effective strategy can create value for an organization by building adjacencies and can be used to mitigate the risk of both negative associations and threats to an organization.
Shades of Noir: My Hunt for an Eclipse Glasses Villain
September 8, 2017, The New York Times
Tens of millions of eclipse glasses were sold ahead of the first total solar eclipse to cross the United States in nearly a century. And though no one has an exact tally, it’s clear that a significant portion were unreliable. Along with Amazon’s massive recall, there was the coffee chain that stopped trusting glasses gifted with lattes and the medical center that scrambled to locate shades distributed at the county fair. Even optometrists were getting duped.
Selling products online
September 8, 2017, Times of Malta
Electronic commerce is going full tilt: it has fundamentally influenced the ways in which enterprises and countries produce, trade and compete in the EU and worldwide. Ensuring the safety of products placed on the online marketplace remains, however, a challenge. Enforcement authorities cannot effectively conduct on-the-spot inspections or test samples of products, and at times are faced with the impossibility of identifying a responsible company for a product sold online.
