Change in the Air
U.S. industry adapts to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act
by Mike Bederka
 Thanks in part to several high-profile toy recalls and the passage of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008, vendors and family entertainment center (FEC) managers and owners have had to take a closer look at their inventory lately.
However, all this attention doesn’t mean everything is running smoothly.
One year after the first round of the act’s implementation, here’s a quick look at where things are and where they’re headed in the United States:
Lower Lead Levels
One year from enactment of the CPSIA—Aug. 14, 2009— items designed or intended primarily for children 12 and under cannot contain more than 300 parts per million (ppm) of lead; the limit will go down to 100 ppm after Aug. 14, 2011, unless the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) determines it’s not technologically feasible. In addition, after Aug. 14, 2009, the act states paint and similar surface-coating materials cannot contain more than 90 ppm of lead.
Third-Party Testing
As of Feb. 10, 2010, the legislation imposes an additional third-party testing requirement for all products primarily intended for kids 12 and younger. Every manufacturer (including an importer) or private labeler must have its products tested by an accredited independent lab and, based on the testing, issue a certificate that the product meets all applicable CPSC requirements. Certificates must include information on the identity of the product’s manufacturer/private labeler, the testing lab, and the date and place of manufacturing and testing of the product. Products without the certificate cannot be imported or distributed in the United States.
Tracking Labels
The law requires manufacturers to have a tracking label or other distinguishing permanent mark, to the extent practicable, on any consumer product primarily intended for children age 12 and younger. The tracking label must contain certain basic information: the source of the product, the date of manufacture, and more detailed info on the manufacturing process like a batch or run number. This requirement went into effect for products manufactured on or after Aug. 14, 2009.
Phthalates
Used widely as plasticizers and solvents, phthalates appear in many products, including building materials, personal care products, medical devices, and toys.
 As of Feb. 10, 2009, it was illegal to manufacture, sell, distribute, or import into the United States any children’s toy that contains concentrations of more than 0.1 percent (1,000 ppm) of di- (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), or benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP). There also was an “interim prohibition,” beginning Feb. 10, 2009, on any toy that can be placed in a child’s mouth that contains concentrations of more than 0.1 percent of diisononyl phthalate (DINP), diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP), or di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP).
Stay of Enforcement
On Jan. 30, 2009, the CPSC announced a one-year stay of enforcement for certain parts of the act. The stay provides “limited relief” from the testing and certification requirements, which went into effect Feb. 10, 2009, for new total lead content limits, phthalate limits for certain products, and mandatory toy standards, among other things.
Manufacturers and importers of children’s products won’t need to test or certify to these new requirements, but they will need to meet the lead and phthalate limits, mandatory toy standards, and other requirements.
The CPSC said its decision gives the agency more time to finalize proposed rules that could relieve certain materials and products from lead testing and to issue more guidance on when testing is required and how it is to be conducted.
The stay will remain in effect until Feb. 10, 2010, when a CPSC vote will be taken to terminate the stay.
Industry Reaction
Experts expressed mixed feelings on the government’s handling of the act’s implementation. The stay, in particular, has caused confusion among some FECs, says R. Wayne Pierce of The Pierce Law Firm LLC in Annapolis, Maryland. “It became difficult [to comply with the new law] because [the CPSC] kept changing the game.”
 Although the CPSC offered varying interpretations of the CPSIA in the first few months it was in effect, operators are indicating they are compliant with the new law.
Mike Johnson, vice president of purchasing for Irving, Texas-based CEC Entertainment Inc., says most of the company’s merchandise was tested, certified, and compliant before enactment, and he won’t wait until the threat of enforcement to obey the law.
“We’re going to be ahead of that curve,” he says. “The law became the law on Feb. 10, 2009, regardless of how anyone wants to paint this thing. All these stays had very little to do with the need to follow the law.”
Mike Lynch, vice president of Sureshot Redemption in Ontario, California, shared the “stays are irrelevant” position. “The stays had no impact on us as a company,” he explains. “We certify and test—period.”
As this issue develops, keep checking IAAPA’s toy safety page at www.IAAPA.org/safety/toysafety; the IAAPA FEC web page at www.IAAPA.org/community/FEC.asp; the IAAPA blog at www.IAAPA.org/blog; and FUNWORLD magazine. For more information on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, visit www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsia/cpsia.html or call +1 301/504-7923.
Contact Contributing Editor Mike Bederka at mbederka@IAAPA.org.
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