CPSC Announces Public Request for Information to Improve Recall Effectiveness
July 16, 2018, Associated Press
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is requesting input from stakeholders regarding the use of direct notices and targeted notices for recalls, as part of its ongoing effort to improve recall effectiveness. This request for input and information follows CPSC’s July 2017 Recall Effectiveness Workshop, which brought together stakeholders and CPSC staff to discuss ways to improve recall effectiveness. CPSC issued a follow-up report identifying key findings and proposing further collaboration among stakeholders to promote direct notice to consumers.
CPSC Recalls now featured daily on Product Safety Network News
July 18, 2018, Product Safety Network News
An RSS feed from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission now makes daily recall news available at your beck-and-call with a click of the keyboard to your favorite digest on global product safety news.
Breakfast cereals don’t need cancer warnings, California court rules
July 17, 2018, SF Gate
Cereals like Cheerios and Grape-Nuts Flakes contain a chemical that researchers have identified as a possible cause of cancer. The cereals also contain whole grains, which the government wants Americans to consume. A state appeals court weighed those conflicting factors and found the balance in favor of the federal government’s whole-grain assessment. Cereals produced by Post, General Mills and Kellogg do not have to carry cancer-warning labels under California’s Proposition 65, the court said, because the labels could discourage consumers from buying healthy foods.
ATV fatality renews concern for safe riding
July 15, 2018, The News Dispatch
Summer means ATV season, and while riding off-road vehicles can be fun and exciting, it can also be deadly, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Though fatal ATV accidents have fallen since 2016, partly due to a new helmet law, DNR officers continue to warn riders to follow laws and common-sense safety tips after a fatal accident two weeks ago in Starke County. The victim was David Blessing, a 49-year-old Tinley Park, Illinois, man, who was found underneath a crashed ATV just after midnight on June 30 near Bass Lake.
Wrap up of federal and state chemicals regulatory developments, July, 2018
July 16, 2018, JDSupra (Bergeson & Campbell)
Available On-Demand – TSCA At 2: An Update On Implementation And Hot Topics: A recording of “TSCA at 2: An Update on Implementation and Hot Topics,” the third webinar in the 2018 Chemical Policy Summit Series, is now available. This webinar featured news and updates on Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) implementation from Nancy B. Beck, Ph.D., D.A.B.T.®,
Final rules, final guidance, and discussion items focus on EPA’s attention on TSCA reforms.
INSIGHT: Five Litigation ‘Hot Spots’ That Escalate the Stakes Under TSCA
July 16, 2018, BNA
We’ve seen a historic upswing in private actions aimed at the Toxic Substances Control Act since it was updated by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, Pub. Law No: 114-182 (June 22, 2016). Prior to this, litigation stemming from TSCA has been modest compared with other federal environmental laws. Things have changed. The 2016 amendments moved TSCA out of the backwater of environmental litigation. This article discusses five “hot spot” areas that target some ambiguities with the new law and assume an enforcement role.
Continuously Saving Lives, UAVs Prove to be More Than Just a Toy
July 18, 2018, Unmanned Aerial
As more public safety agencies adopt small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the number of lives the technology is saving is climbing dramatically, reports Skyfire Consulting, a public safety UAV consulting company in Decatur, Ga. Recently, in just one day, four people were reportedly saved by drones in three separate incidents around the world.
How Europe’s chemical industry learned to love REACH
July 17, 2018 Chemical & Engineering News
The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), Europe’s leading chemical industry association, has made a U-turn in its view of REACH, Europe’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & Restriction of Chemicals legislation. After years of kicking and screaming to resist REACH—the biggest and most expensive body of chemicals regulation ever introduced—Cefic has emerged as its biggest advocate.
Managing data protection compliance effectively
July 20, 2018, Image and Data Manager
New legislation around data protection and breach reporting means organisations need to put the right processes, people, and technology in place to comply. Failing to do so can create significant challenges for businesses. The new laws have already seen breaches become public that may otherwise have remained hidden.
Deal or No Deal: Here’s how Europe is bracing for a chaotic Brexit
July 19, 2018, Business Standard
Brexit talks are stalled and Prime Minister Theresa May’s divorce plan faces opposition on all sides. The European Union is telling governments and companies to prepare for the chaotic scenario of Britain leaving the bloc without an agreement in place. As the UK government promises to step up its own preparations for a no-deal exit, some EU countries are taking it more seriously than others.
Safety warning over children’s slime toys
July 17, 2018, Telegraph, UK
Parents are being warned over popular slime toys after a study by consumer watchdogs found many are potentially poisonous. Consumer group Which? tested 11 popular children’s slime products and found eight of them contained higher than recommended levels of boron, a chemical which can pose a safety risk. Exposure to excessive levels of the element can cause irritation, diarrhea, vomiting and cramps in the short term, while exposure to very high levels of boron may also impair fertility and could cause harm to an unborn child in pregnant women.
