Feds Seem to Favor ‘Light Touch’ IoT Regulation
July 24, 2018, Tech News World
The Internet of Things may be in its infancy, but the U.S. government has been gearing up to determine what the proper federal role should be, both for encouraging and for regulating the use of IoT technology. Two recent developments have underscored the government’s interest in IoT. On the regulatory front, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has launched an initiative to determine a framework for regulation related to IoT. The agency finished taking comments from IT providers, other affected businesses and the public last month. The second action was the recent introduction of the SMART IoT Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Duck Boats Reportedly Designed by Businessman with No Engineering Training
July 27, 2018, National Law Review (Robert A. Clifford)
Several major publications are reporting that court records indicate that the deadly duck boats were designed decades ago by a businessman who had no engineering experience. The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times and USA Today are among those reporting that the designer and entrepreneur, Robert F. McDowell, had completed only two years of college and “had no background, training or certification in mechanics when he came up with the design for ‘stretch’ duck boats” USA Today, “Court Records show duck boat in Missouri disaster was designed by entrepreneur with no engineering training,” by Matt Pearce, July 24, 2018. The discovery came upon an examination of a lawsuit filed over a roadway disaster in Seattle involving a similar duck boat in 2015.
CPSC Business Guidance on Phthalates
July, 2018, cpsc.gov
On 27 October 2017, the Consumer Product Safety Commission approved a prohibition of concentrations above 0.1% of the substances in children’s toys and childcare articles, followed in January, 2018 by a direct final rule to amend corresponding administrative regulations to reflect the new requirements. To assist businesses in understanding the overall subject matter, the CPSC has developed a resource guide for businesses to provide relevant information. The guide covers such topics as: Types of products subject to phthalates prohibition, component parts and inaccessibility, third party testing and certification, phthalates FAQs, and additional resources and information.
Baby Changing Safety Standards
July 25, 2018, Good Housekeeping
Between 2005 and 2016, there were over 39,000 baby changing product-related emergency visits in children younger than three years of age. So it makes sense that the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) has announced an updated standard of safety for changing products used at home. The new guidelines apply to changing tables, accessories, add-on units, and contoured changing pads, but as was the case with the updated safety standards for high chairs, these new rules can be tricky.
New safety standards for booster seats approved
July 25, 2018, SIlive.com
New federal standards aimed to make booster seats for children safer and prevent injuries and death were recently approved. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) approved the rules for booster seats used at home and in restaurants. They will take effect in a year and a half. A booster seat is a “juvenile chair” placed on an adult chair to elevate a child, up to 5 years old, to standard table height. The rules don’t apply to booster seats intended for use in cars.
New York State looks to expand BPA ban to substitution chemicals
July 25, 2018, Environmental Health News
The New York State Assembly has put forth a bill than bans BPA substitution chemicals in children’s products. The bill, which has been referred to the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation, would expand existing legislation that prohibits the sale of child care products that contain bisphenol-A. It comes in response to studies that have reported many BPA substitution chemicals are just as harmful—if not more so—than the chemical they’re designed to replace.
Certification Program Guidelines Issued
July 27, 2918, Society of Product Safety Professionals
Participants who successfully complete this certification program will receive a certificate from Saint Louis University’s Emerson Leadership Institute stating that they have demonstrated an understanding of the knowledge required to contribute to the design and management of an effective product safety system within a company that manufactures, sells, or distributes consumer products. This certification will result in the designation Certified Consumer Product Safety Professional™ (CCPSP).
Mars boss: EU-UK should prepare to extend Article 50 or transition period
July 26, 2018, Euractiv.com
London and Brussels should be “pragmatic” and prepare to either extend Article 50 or the transition period so that Brexit talks can progress “in the right way”, Mars Wrigley Confectionery’s regional president for Europe, Russia, CIS and Turkey told EURACTIV.com.
Shaid Shah said Brexit will have implications whichever way the final destination plays out.
“There are three essential outcomes: hard Brexit, soft Brexit or no Brexit. There are three guidelines we are looking to be prepared and plan for. This isn’t an easy exercise because the ambiguity of what is likely to follow is not good for business, no matter the outcome,” he said.
Precautionary Politics: Europe moves backward into a fear-based dark ages in regulation agriculture and cancer risks
July 25, 2018, Genetic Literacy Project
When any technology is held up to a strictly-applied hazard-based regulatory approach, the result is a near certain ban. For environmental activists who are deeply skeptical of technology, that may be the point. In European agricultural policy, certain technologies considered critical to modern farming and deemed safe by regulatory agencies around the world have been limited or eliminated with the application of a hazard-based model; it should come as no surprise that the consequences for farmers have been difficult.
Aim for compliance by design, not by accident
July 26, 2018, Atlantic City Weekly
While a global economy is an advantage for many companies that operate internationally, compliance with the multitude of complex and ever-changing laws and regulations can be a burden to doing business, and the penalties of non-compliance can be severe. To underscore how costly non-compliance can be, a recent case study of one global steel company showed that EHS-related violations cost the company almost $2.7 million dollars over a five-year period. Compliance challenges for global businesses include not only the complexity and fast-paced changes of laws and regulations all over the world, but also tighter enforcement of these regulations, not to mention potential language and cultural barriers.
