Perspective: Proposed Consumer Advocacy And Protection Act (CAP) Could Remove The Cap On Civil Penalties The CPSC Can Impose
February 6, 2024, National Law Review
On January 25, 2024, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09), Ranking Member of the House Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee and Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT), Member of the Senate Commerce Committee, introduced legislation to bolster the enforcement tools available to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The legislation, if passed, will deter violations of the Consumer Product Safety Act. This bicameral legislation is known as the Consumer Advocacy and Protection (CAP) Act.
EU Product Liability Reforms Represent A Major Shakeup
February 8, 2024, Cooley
The European Union Parliament and Council reached provisional agreement on the text for a new product liability regime in Europe. The provisionally agreed text was published on Jan. 25.
The reforms represent a major shakeup, fully revising the EU’s existing strict liability — no fault — regime under the Product Liability Directive for the first time in nearly 40 years. They will expand the scope of claims that can be brought, the range of damages that can be recovered and make it easier for consumers to prove their claims. The reforms are driven by a concern that the EU’s existing product liability regime was becoming outdated and not fit for purpose in the digital world, including in the context of risks posed by connected products, artificial intelligence, the circular economy and e-commerce.
22 Instructors Announced For 2024 Consumer Product Safety Certification Program
February 11, 2024, einpresswire
A group of 22 respected industry professionals, regulators and academic leaders will be leading the 2024 Consumer Product Safety Professional Certification Program beginning on August 29 and 30 with a two-day on campus workshop held at Virginia Tech’s Research Center in Arlington, VA.
Topics featured in the program include culture and ethics, risk assessment and hazard analysis, regulatory compliance, product investigations, human factors, data management, and product safety recalls.
The program is offered by Virginia Tech and designed and implemented by the Society of Product Safety Professionals in cooperation with ADK Information Services.
Got A Radical Idea At Work? Find A Partner
February 8, 2024, Harvard Business Review
The story of Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman is the story of the two winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries. Their work is the underpinning the mRNA vaccines against Covid-19. This holds lessons for others who are pursuing radical ideas. Drawing on their interviews with Karikó and with Weissman, the authors extrapolate lessons on why pairs can be more effective in pursuing seemingly wild ideas and how to find someone to take the journey with you.
Everywhere Chemicals’ In Plastic Food Containers And More Linked To Preterm Births, Doctors Warn
February 7, 2024, New York Post
A new study backed by the National Institutes of Health has shown that phthalates, found in everyday products from food containers to shampoo, may be behind the rise in preterm births in the US. “Phthalates can also contribute to inflammation that can disrupt the placenta even more and set the steps of preterm labor in motion,” Dr. Leonardo Trasande, director of environmental pediatrics at NYU Langone Health, explained. “In our new study, we found DEHP and three similar chemicals could be responsible for 5% to 10% of all the preterm births in 2018. This could be one of the reasons why preterm births are on the rise” Trasande continued.
San Francisco Leaders Set New Safety Standards For E-Bikes, Scooters
February 6, 2024, San Francisco Examiner
Years in the making, San Francisco is poised to set new safety standards for battery-powered devices like e-bikes and scooters. The Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a bill that establishes new rules for powered mobility devices, including limits on how many can be stored in a single home. The bill also prohibits the use of damaged batteries, which are more likely to cause fires, or the sale of reconditioned batteries.
Top AI Companies Join Government Effort To Set Safety Standards
February 8, 2024, Time
The top U.S. artificial intelligence companies will participate in a government-led effort intended to craft federal standards on the technology to ensure that it’s deployed safely and responsibly, the Commerce Department said. OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft Corp., Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google are among more than 200 members of a newly established AI Safety Institute Consortium under the department, according to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Also on the list are Apple Inc., Amazon Inc., Hugging Face Inc. and IBM.
What’s Your Water Bottle Made Of? Stanley Tumblers Aren’t The Only Water Bottles Containing Lead
February 6, 2024, Cycling Weekly
The Stanley situation has resulted in athletes questioning what chemicals are hiding in their water bottles, and if there is cause for concern about traces of lead or other dangers in what we drink out of on long rides. We did research on popular water bottle brands frequently found in cyclists’ water bottle cages, so you don’t have to.
New York Group Releases First Battery Fire Recommendations
February 6, 2024, Power Engineering
New York’s Inter-Agency Fire Safety Working Group has released its initial recommendations, outlining new safety standards for battery energy storage systems. These include potential updates to the Fire Code of New York State (FCNYS), as well as a list of additional opportunities for defining and implementing best practices. The announcement follows the release of initial data from the group which said it found that there were no reported injuries and no harmful levels of toxins detected following fires at battery energy storage systems in Jefferson, Orange and Suffolk Counties last summer.
New Federal Safety Standards Now In Effect For Child Car Seats
February 2024, YouTube.com
New federal standards for child car seats took effect Monday to address side-impact crash tests, minimum child weight labels, school bus-specific restraint requirements and more.
Report: 2024 Could Be A Big Year For PFAS Bans
February 8, 2024, Environmental Health News
Policymakers in 36 states will consider more than 450 bills that deal with toxic chemicals in 2024, according to a new analysis of anticipated state legislation from Safer States. Safer States is a national alliance of environmental organizations aimed to protect people from harmful chemicals. Most of the anticipated bills in their new report will deal with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, water quality, plastics and cosmetics. The analysis estimates 35 states will introduce policies to ban PFAS chemicals in some of the chemicals’ uses. And the policies will go beyond bans, such as food packaging, the authors write, and will include monitoring and testing of PFAS in water, sewage sludge (which is often spread on farms and can contain the chemicals), and labeling and restrictions in firefighting equipment.
UK Garden Center Fined £18,000 After ‘Very Dangerous’ Cushions Seized
February 7, 2024, Yorkshire Live
Woodthorpe Hall Garden Centers Ltd has been fined £18,000 after “very dangerous” cushions were seized from a garden center in East Yorkshire. The cushions, which lacked fire labels, were on sale at Hornsea Garden Center. The company was fined after admitting to six breaches of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988.
