Section 101(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) currently requires children's products, unless specifically excluded by regulation, to contain no more than 300 parts per million (ppm) of lead. The lead content limit is set to be lowered to 100 ppm on August 14, 2011, unless the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) determines that the 100 ppm limit is not "technologically feasible." Following several rounds of public comments and meetings, the CPSC staff issued a briefing package on Wednesday indicating that it found no reason to recommend to the Commission that the 100 ppm standard for children's products would not be technologically feasible. The CPSC is scheduled to have a decisional meeting on this issue on July 13, 2011. Unless the CPSC commissioners disagree with the staff's recommendation, which is unlikely, on August 14, 2011, it will become unlawful to manufacture for sale, sell, import or distribute children's products that fail to meet the 100 ppm lead limit. On August 14, 2011, testing and certification to the 100 ppm limit will be required. The stay of enforcement for bicycles, youth motorized recreational vehicles, and certain metal component parts currently remains in effect until December 31, 2011.
The McGuireWoods Consumer Product Safety Team represents clients in risk management, regulatory and litigation matters involving the Consumer Product Safety Commission. We have more than three decades of experience in this field, and our clients include domestic and international manufacturers, importers, and retailers of some of the world's best-known products.
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