New CPSC report finds fatal child drownings are on the rise
June 6, 2019, cpsc.gov
A new report released by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) highlights the need for continued vigilance in combatting drowning, which continues to be a public health crisis and remains the leading cause of unintentional death among children 1–4. There were, on average, an estimated 6,600 pool-or-spa related, hospital emergency department treated, nonfatal drowning injuries each year for 2016 through 2018, and 363 pool-or-spa related fatal child drownings reported per year for 2014 through 2016, involving children younger than 15. Fatal incident rates spiked in 2016 with 389 reported fatalities involving children younger than 15, 74 percent of which involved children younger than 5.
CPSC and Consumer Product Information: Why do accuracy and fairness matter?
June 6, 2019, National Law Review (Schiff and Hardin LLP)
We have recently written about the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) mistaken disclosure of sensitive information and the CPSC’s current data-protection processes and their limits. In the weeks and months ahead, we anticipate a determined challenge to those limited but vital protections. Here, we make the case for why CPSC stakeholders who appreciate their value should prepare to defend them.
ICPHSO Regional conference: Gateway to Product Safety
June 9, 2019, icophso.org
The “Gateway to Product Safety,” regional workshop will be held July 11, 2019 at Saint Louis University and focus on best practices and innovations in product safety and compliance. The most recent critical issues in product safety will be served up in panel presentations, including the recent mistaken disclosure of confidential information from the CPSC, the Boeing 737 Max 8 safety controversy that has become a global issue, and other contemporary issues. Whether you are a manufacturer, retailer, distributor, consumer, regulator, NGO or service provider, this training workshop is one you won’t want to miss.
Boom in electric scooters leads to more injuries, fatalities
June 6, 2019, WPSD Local 6
Andrew Hardy was crossing the street on an electric scooter in downtown Los Angeles when a car struck him at 50 miles per hour and flung him 15 feet in the air before he smacked his head on the pavement and fell unconscious. The 26-year-old snapped two bones in each leg, broke a thighbone, shattered a kneecap, punctured a lung and fractured three vertebrae in his neck, in addition to sustaining a head injury. He was not wearing a helmet. Doctors told Hardy he’d likely be paralyzed for life. Five months later, he has learned to walk again. But he says he’ll never ride another scooter.
FDA & CPSC: Frequently asked questions on soap
May 31, 2019, RSS Feed
FDA often receives questions from soap makers about how their products are regulated. Here is information to help small-scale soap producers understand the laws and regulations they need to know about. Here are some responses, including when the CPSC has regulatory authority over soaps.
Prop 65 Update: California says coffee does not pose significant cancer risk
June 3, 2019, SF Gate
California officially gave its blessing to coffee recently, declaring the beverage does not pose a “significant” cancer risk. The rule, proposed a year ago by regulators, means coffee won’t have to carry ominous warnings that the beverage may be bad for you. The state took the rare move after a Los Angeles judge found Starbucks Corp. and other companies failed to show that benefits from drinking coffee outweighed risks from a byproduct of the roasting process.
Paris puts a spoke in the wheels of electric scooters
June 6, 2019, The Guardian
Paris is cracking down on electric scooters after an anarchic year in which startups flooded the city’s streets with their vehicles. The French capital has 12 free-floating scooter operators, more than the entire US, according to a study released on Thursday, and about 20,000 of the two-wheeled vehicles.
Broken toy that sickened beloved dog raises questions about regulations for pet protection
June 6, 2019, ABC-TV
Gina Mazzotti’s dog Bella is a lot bigger than Gina.
“She’s a six-year-old American Mastiff,” Mazzotti said. “She’s 170 pounds, so it doesn’t get much bigger than that. And like a lot of dogs, Bella loves to chew – really chew. So Mazzotti keeps a stash of toys made for big dogs. Mazzotti says one day, she opened the mint-flavored nylon bone made by PetQwerks of Irvine, Calif. The dog broke off a piece, swallowed it, and 2 weeks later began getting very sick.
There’s no summer break from lead safety
June 7, 2019, Shoshone News Press
With all of the local schools officially out for summer, Panhandle Health District (PHD) wants to make sure that kids don’t find their way into any potentially toxic situations. While blood-lead levels have hit their historic lows, there are still places where toxic heavy metal particulate matter remains, and any exposure to lead is unsafe. “Children suffer effects from lead exposure at much lower levels,” PHD program manager Andy Helkey said. “Because lead exposure often occurs with no obvious symptoms, it frequently goes unrecognized. There is no safe lead threshold for the adverse effects of lead on infant or child neurodevelopment that has been identified.”
Ethical business is big and it’s targeting tech’s Patagonia jacket crew
June 5, 2019, The Evening Standard
In California’s Silicon Valley a tiny elite group — numbering just a few dozen partners among the top venture capital funds — not only look alike; they dress identically too. And what do these captains of tech industry wear? To a man, they come to work dressed in slacks, collared shirts and — most important of all — a thin jacket made by the outdoor clothing business Patagonia. That was before the apparel company stopped selling their products to the titans.
Maine Legislature passes bill aiming to ban PFAS chemicals
June 4, 2019, Greenwich Time
The Maine Legislature recently passed a bill aimed at prohibiting the sale of food packaging with certain potentially toxic chemicals. The Senate sent the bill to Gov. Janet Mills, who has pushed to explore contamination risks from per- and polyfluoroalykyl substances, known as PFAS. The Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to place legal limits on the chemicals that have long been used in consumer products, but hasn’t yet done so.
