August 16, 2016
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted this week to approve a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would exempt four plastics from third-party testing for compliance with mandatory phthalates prohibitions in children’s toys and child care articles.
The determination that these plastics would not contain the prohibited phthalates (DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, DIDP and DnOP) in excess of the statutory limit (0.1%) would apply to the following:
- Polypropylene
- Polyethylene
- High-impact polystyrene
- Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
Why It Matters
The proposed determinations would relieve these four specified plastics and their accompanying additives from the third-party testing requirement of Section 14 of the CPSA for the purpose of supporting the required certification. The proposed determinations would not be applicable to any other plastics or additives beyond those listed in the proposed rule.
While the proposed determinations would relieve the manufacturers’ obligation to have the specified plastics and accompanying additives tested by a CPSC-accepted third-party laboratory, children’s toys and child care articles must still comply with the phthalate content limits in Section 108 of the CPSIA.
The proposed rule would not impose any additional reporting, recordkeeping, or other compliance requirements.
On Wednesday, August 17, 2016, the Docket for the proposed rule, number CPSC-2016-0017, will be published at www.regulations.gov. Publication of the draft rule in the Federal Register is expected to occur within the next week, after which a 75-day comment period will ensue. CPSC is recommending an effective date of 30 days from the final rule’s publication in the Federal Register.
How UL Can Help
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