Survey: How retailers rank on toxic chemicals
November 15, 2018, Mind the Store
In the third annual report card on toxic chemicals in consumer products, the Mind the Store campaign evaluated forty of the largest retailers in North America. They found that major retailers are making slow but meaningful progress in improving the chemical safety of the products and packaging they sell, but nearly half have failed to make the grade. Some companies, including Apple, Target, Walmart and Ikea earned top marks. But the average grade of all 40 retailers was a D+. Learn how each retailer scored with an assessment across 14 key safety chemicals criteria.
CPSC Enforcement Trends to Watch: Increased Focus on Child Resistant Packaging and Certificates of Compliance
Monday, November 12, 2018, National Law Review (Keller and Heckman)
The authors have observed two recent enforcement trends at the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that may affect the e-vapor industry: (1) a spike in recalls of products harmful or fatal to children if ingested but lacking required child-resistant packaging; and (2) an increased focus on the absence of certificates of compliance. Both forms of regulatory violations were also the subject of a recent Nicotine Packaging Advisory Letter from the Director of CPSC’s Office of Compliance and Field Operations.
Editorial: Lime or lemon? KC should dock electric scooters until safety concerns are addressed
November 13, 2018, Kansas City Star
Lime, the electric scooter company that descended on Kansas City in September, is ducking questions amid a recall and multiplying safety concerns.Lime decommissioned its Okai-brand electric scooters after reports that they can break apart while in use. It’s another setback for a company that recently pulled a Segway scooter model off the streets because of a battery defect that could cause a fire. The potential dangers only add to a growing list of questions about the safety of scooters on city streets.
CPSC Expands Toy Safety Collaboration Efforts with Retail, Toy Industries & Safe Kids; Top Toy Safety Tips for Shoppers This Holiday Season
November 14, 2018, cpsc.gov
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), Safe Kids Worldwide, and The Toy Association joined together to promote toy safety and smart purchasing practices for parents, grandparents, and loved ones this holiday season. The groups are collaborating to provide consumer guidance and Toy Safety Shopping Tips to help elevate consumer toy safety awareness during the year’s busiest shopping season. “By working collaboratively, CPSC’s toy safety tips can reach more people this holiday toy buying season. We all have the same goal, which is to keep children safe during the holidays and all year long,” said Acting CPSC Chairman Buerkle.
Webinar: Understanding product safety’s anticipated university certification program
November 1, 2018, Emerson Leadership Institute (Saint Louis University)
The Consumer Product Safety Professional Certification Program is designed to provide recognition to product safety professionals who demonstrate an understanding of five key areas of knowledge required for effective management. This webinar explains program details and provides information on how to apply for admissions. The program is sponsored by the Society of Product Safety Professionals and its affiliate, Consumer Product Safety Certification Services.
Robot Reboot: CPSC launches upgraded Regulatory Robot Tool to help small business community
November 14, 2018, cpsc.gov
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has launched a new and improved Regulatory Robot tool to help small businesses become familiar with and comply with applicable federal product safety requirements. The newest version of the tool, Regulatory Robot 2.0, is a free resource, is much more efficient, and takes less than five minutes to complete. And, it is now smart phone friendly. Under the previous version, users had to answer 15-20 questions about their product before they received a customized report of product safety information. The upgraded Regulatory Robot cuts that number down to three questions for the majority of users.
Scientists examine Food Contact Materials containing silver nanoparticles
November 9, 2018, News Medical Life Sciences
Among the nanosilver-infused FCMs now on the market overseas are spatulas, baby mugs, storage containers, and cutting boards. However, the use of these items raises concerns that the nanoparticles in them will migrate into foods and the environment, and in turn, whether this poses risks to human health. To address these issues, government bodies around the world have published guidance documents, set policies and considered regulations. In a new paper, scientists from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) describe how they simulated knife motion, washing and scratching on nanosilver-containing cutting boards to see if consumer use practices affect nanoparticle release.
Theresa May faces battle to persuade voters to back her Brexit deal
November 15, 2018, Politico
Theresa May faces the fight of her political career to persuade a deeply skeptical public that her proposed Brexit deal is right for the country. With Cabinet approval for the draft Brexit withdrawal deal agreed after a marathon five-hour meeting on Wednesday and the EU preparing to trigger a special Brexit summit to sign off on the text, attention will quickly turn to the prime minister’s battle to sell the deal at home.
ACCC teams up in global campaign on on-line products safety
November 13, 2018, IT Wire
Australia’s competition watchdog, the ACCC, has joined the European Commission and 24 other countries in a new global campaign focused on reducing the number of unsafe consumer products being sold online. As part of its involvement, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has been working proactively with a number of online selling platforms such as eBay, Etsy, AliExpress, Gumtree, and Catch.com.au to improve product safety compliance in the online marketplace. The campaign — part of International Product Safety Week from 12 to 16 November — sees these platforms undertaking a range of activities to improve awareness of unsafe products.
UL Chemical Safety Research and Georgia Institute of Technology Release Pioneering 3D Printing Research
November 12, 2018, Appliance Design
UL Chemical Safety and the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) announced a body of research that explored the impact of 3D printing on indoor air quality. Following an in-depth, two-year research period with Georgia Tech, UL’s Chemical Safety found that many desktop 3D printers generate ultrafine particles (UFPs) while in operation. UFPs may pose a health concern since they are the size of nanoparticles and may be inhaled and penetrate deep into the human pulmonary system.
