Consumer Product Safety Commission
sb admin | December 4, 2007Elizabeth Williamson of the Washington Post has written powerful article on the failure of the regulatory system to ensure that amusement park âthrillâ rides donât kill or injure customers, primarily teenagers and children. She provides grisly detail on a topic weâve talked about here before: the inability and/or unwillingness of the Consumer Product Safety Commission to protect the public.
After describing one series of identical accidents that occurred several times on the same ride, Williamson notes
The CPSC has no employee whose full-time job is to ensure the safety of such rides. The…
sb admin | November 29, 2007The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, a group created by asbestos victims and their families, bought products from national retailers and had them tested at independent labs. One of the most disturbing findings was high levels of asbestos in powder from a toy CSI fingerprint kit. The powder is intended to be sprinkled on surfaces and brushed with a soft-bristle brush â creating conditions ripe for inhalation.
Andrew Schneider reports on the groupâs findings in the Seattle P-I, and notes that CBS, which licenses the kit, has asked its licensees to have the kits tested immediately and to…
sb admin | November 20, 2007By Paul D. Blanc
The interconnections among toxic butter flavoring, fatal coal mine "bumps," and tainted Barbie accessories may not be immediately obvious - but they all reflect the failures of an increasingly compromised U. S. regulatory apparatus.
In early September, news broke that the artificial butter flavoring chemical diacetyl had caused severe lung disease in a hapless consumer who liked his popcorn just a bit too much. The resulting publicity spurred the leading industrial user of diacetyl, ConAgra, to remove the chemical from its product line. Thus was accomplished in one day what…
sb admin | November 8, 2007Earlier this week, the Washington Postâs Elizabeth Williamson reported on industry-financed trips that Consumer Product Safety Commission chairs had taken. Today, she writes about other CPSC staff members (from both the Clinton and Bush administrations) who took such trips, and about proposed legislation spurred by the CPSC travel revelations. Meanwhile, eight new toy recalls have been issued.
Clinton appointee Ann Brown chaired the CPSC from 1994 to 2001 did not accept travel paid by regulated industries, Williamson reports; she did, however, send some of her staff members on industry-…
sb admin | October 31, 2007After Consumer Product Safety Commission acting chair Nancy Nord opposed Senate legislation designed to strengthen the agency, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling for Nord's resignation. The Washington Post's Annys Shin has the story:
Pelosi said Nord's position on the bill makes her the wrong person to lead the agency. "Any commission chair who, in the face of the facts that are so clear, says we don't need any more authority or any more resources to do our job does not understand the gravity of the situation," Pelosi said.
Or maybe Nord does understand the gravity of the situation, but…
sb admin | October 30, 2007We've been following the crescendo of stories illustrating the severe limitations of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (here, here, and here): CPSC lacks the resources to test products adequately, it canât levy hefty enough fines to deter corporate wrongdoing, and it can announce a recall only through a news release that it negotiates with the company involved .
Now, a bill is moving through the Senate that would boost CPSC funding, increase maximum penalties for violating product-safety laws to $100 million from $1.85 million, protect whistleblowers, and let the understaffed agency…
sb admin | September 27, 2007The recent recalls of dangerous toys and defective cribs have received a great deal of press attention, but closer analysis reveals that consumer product recalls are generally ineffective at getting most defective products out of consumersâ homes.
In many cases, the vast majority of the dangerous recalled items are never returned to the manufacturer. Confusing instructions, missing or late mailing labels, and store clerks who refuse to take returns are among the problems that consumers describe. Consumer advocates point to a problem with the system, which lets companies choose whether…
sb admin | September 24, 2007By David Michaels
Most media coverage of Fridayâs announcement by the Consumer Products Safety Commission and a crib manufacturer that one million cribs were being recalled missed the story behind the story. Stung by an avalanche of bad publicity on its failure to protect children from toys with lead paint or dangerous magnets, the CPSC appeared to be getting ahead of the problem, taking action after the death of (only) two infants.
In fact, the CPSC had known about the risk of infant suffocation posed by these cribs for many months, and the Chicago Tribune had been investigating the…
sb admin | September 10, 2007By David Michaels
In a few short months, the country has awakened to several potential hazards associated with Chinese toys. Mattel and other manufacturers have already recalled millions of toys, some for lead paint and others because they contained magnets that, if swallowed, could cause severe injuries. Now, Louise Story of New York Times reports that the Walt Disney Company will conduct lead tests on 65,000 toys and other childrenâs products made by 2,000 companies that license Disney characters.
Things have gotten so bad that toy manufacturers are actually asking for federal regulation…
sb admin | July 16, 2007By David Michaels
Gretchen Morgenson, the terrific New York Times reporter, has a disturbing piece that describes how the toothless Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has little ability to force hazardous consumer products of the shelves of toy stores.
The focus of her report is on super powerful miniature toy magnets. They are candy colored and easily eaten by small children. Morgensonâs article is a powerful case for new legislation that gives the CPSC some real power. It is also another piece of evidence documenting how law suits serve as the de facto regulatory system, since our…