CPSC Approves New Federal Safety Standard For Nursing Pillows To Prevent Infant Deaths And Serious Injuries
September 18, 2024, cpsc
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has approved a new federal mandatory standard to improve the safety of nursing pillows and to protect babies from injury and death. By a 5 to 0 vote, the Commission approved a new rule that will address suffocation, entrapment and fall risks associated with the use of nursing pillows. The new rule will go into effect 180 days following publication in the Federal Register. CPSC is aware of 154 infant deaths and 64 injuries between 2010 and 2022 associated with nursing pillows, with most injuries and deaths occurring among infants younger than 3 months old. The majority of these deaths involved the nursing pillow being used in or on a sleep product, including an adult bed or mattress, a crib, a portable playpen, or on a couch, sofa or loveseat.
Statement of Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric
Statement of Commissioner Mary T. Boyle
Statement of Commissioner Richard Trumka
CPSC Report Shows Unsafe Sleep Environments Are Leading Cause Of Injuries And Deaths With Nursery Products
September 19, 2024, cpsc.gov
A new report from the Consumer Product Safety Commission shows that injuries and deaths associated with nursery products persist among children younger than age five. The report, Injuries and Deaths Associated with Nursery Products Among Children Younger than Age Five, shows that on average, more than 170 infant deaths were associated with nursery products annually between 2019-2021. Unsafe sleeping environments – such as those that include soft bedding added to the cribs, playpens/play yards or bassinets/cradles – accounted for 126 deaths during that three-year period.
How The Next Generation Of Managers Is Using Gen AI
September 20, 2024, Harvard Business Review
Only 15% of managers consistently use gen AI, but 40% of business graduate students do. These managers and leaders of the near future will soon enter a workforce that is underprepared for them and poorly designed for them to put their abilities to use. This article explores how organizations should respond. Companies should learn to become a magnet for gen AI-savvy talent, and discover how to best onboard, engage, integrate, and retain the next generation of AI-capable managers.
Congress Moves Forward On Lithium-Ion Battery Legislation
September 19, 2024, JD Supra
Rechargeable batteries used in “micro-mobility devices” are currently not subject to any federal safety standards. According to a report by CBS News New York, defective lithium-ion batteries have allegedly resulted in 400 fires, 300 injuries and 12 deaths between 2019 and 2023 in New York City alone. In March 2023, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) introduced the “Setting Consumer Standards for Lithium-Ion Batteries Act.” This bill would require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to devise product safety standards for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries within one year of enactment. The product safety standards would include regulations for chargers, cables, battery pack external terminals, micromobility device external terminals, and free-standing recharging stations.
Rising Electric Scooter Accidents In Hungary Prompt Urgent Safety Measures
September 17, 2024, Hungary Today
The rise in accidents involving electric scooters has become a major concern, according to Karolina Molnár, Hungary’s Deputy Secretary of State for Strategic Affairs. Ms. Molnár highlighted that electric scooters, along with pedestrians and cyclists, are involved in a significant portion of accidents. “Experience in recent years has shown that pedestrians, cyclists, and, more recently, electric scooters are involved in around a third to half of all accidents,” she said.
UK: OPSS Issues Safety Alert To Warn Of The Risks Of Water Beads
September 19, 2024, UK.gov
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has issued a Safety Alert to warn of the risks that water beads can pose to children and vulnerable adults. The Safety Alert advises that water beads should be kept away from young children, under 5 years of age, and only used with older children or vulnerable adults under close supervision.
August 2024 Bounty Hunter Plaintiff Claims
September 17, 2024, JD Supra
California’s Proposition 65 (“Prop. 65”), the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, requires, among other things, sellers of products to provide a “clear and reasonable warning” if use of the product results in a knowing and intentional exposure to one of more than 900 different chemicals. Because Prop. 65 permits enforcement of the law by private individuals (the so-called bounty hunter provision), this section of the statute has long been a source of significant claims and litigation in California. It has also gone a long way in helping to create a plaintiff’s bar that specializes in such lawsuits. This is because the statute allows recovery of attorney’s fees, in addition to the imposition of civil penalties as high as $2,500 per day per violation. Thus, the costs of litigation, and settlement, can be substantial.
CPSC Guide To Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA)
September 2024, cpsc
Enacted in 1953, the Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA) was enacted by Congress to protect individuals from burns, fires, illness, and death as a result of highly flammable clothing. In 1967, Congress amended the FFA to expand its coverage to include interior furnishings as well as paper, plastic, foam, and other materials used in wearing apparel and interior furnishings. Under the FFA, CPSC can issue mandatory flammability standards. The Commission has established standards for the flammability of clothing textiles, vinyl plastic film (used in clothing), carpets and rugs, children’s sleepwear, mattresses, and mattress pads.
Navigating The PFAS Landscape: Emerging Trends In Litigation
September 18, 2024, National Law Review
The per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) landscape is rapidly developing as manufacturers and sellers of consumer products face increased litigation. One emerging pattern is lawsuits alleging a failure to disclose the presence of PFAS in products and the potential targeting of products that advertise to be high quality or natural. Additionally, plaintiffs’ testing for PFAS has come under scrutiny, resulting in dismissals.
Advocacy: China Tightens Standards For Electric Bikes To Enhance Safety
September 19, 2024, Global Times
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released a draft standard targeting the technical safety of electric bicycles. The standard is intended to improve the fire-retardant performance of bikes and better riding protection for consumers, to preventing the illegal modification of bicycles and to further improve product safety with stepped-up regulations. Compared with the current standard, the draft standard, which is now open for public comments, has made modifications in seven aspects.
Australian New Product Recall Report As Risks Rise
eptember 20, 2024, Insurance news.com.au
The first Australian edition of Sedgwick’s product recall report shows more than 600 “corrective actions” in the first half of the year across the automotive, consumer product, food and drink, medical device and pharmaceutical sectors. The Recall Index, like editions published for the US and European markets, provides information on trends and developments including regulatory changes. Sedgwick senior VP of brand protection Chris Harvey says commerce and supply chains are interconnected and impacts in different markets affect each other.
