CPSC Requires New Phthalates and Lead Guidelines

Beginning on February 10, 2009, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued new requirements for child products. The guidelines are necessary in order to comply with the New Child Safety Law. The guidelines apply to children’s toys, childcare articles and consumer products intended for children. The new guidelines apply to phthalate and lead levels. Phthalates are chemicals used to make vinyl and plastics soft and flexible. It is because of these qualities, that phthalates are used to make toys.

The new phthalate requirements apply to six different types of phthalates (DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, DIDP and DnOP). Children’s toys and childcare articles cannot contain any more than 0.1% of any of these six phthalates. According to the CPSC, a children’s toy is defined as “a product intended for a child 12 years or younger to use when playing.” However, bigger items, such as bikes, playground equipment and musical instruments are exempt. Childcare articles are defined as products that a child three years and younger would use for sleeping (ex: blanket), feeding (ex: cup), teething (ex: teething ring) and sucking (ex: pacifier).

As a result of the new requirements, companies have a reporting obligation under federal law. Companies must tell the CPSC if they know of any toy or childcare article that exceeds the new phthalate requirements. The new requirements also apply to all toys and childcare articles regardless of when they were manufactured, meaning these new requirements apply to toys currently on the market, not just those made after February 10th.

Also beginning on February 10th new lead guidelines will be implemented. The guidelines apply to consumer products intended for children who are twelve years or younger. Lead is often found in the paint of children’s toys. None of the consumer products for children can have more than 600 parts per million of lead.

However, these new guidelines do not apply to all products. The CPSC will issue alternative lead limits for some electronic devices. In addition, on January 30, 2009, the CPSC approved a one-year stay on the enforcement of testing for these new guidelines. Manufacturers and importers do not have to comply with certain certification and testing requirements on their products for another year. Manufacturers will not be required to complete testing, but they will still be required to meet lead and phthalate limits along with other mandatory toy standards. Testing is required for painted products and in the future it will be required for metal jewelry. Companies still have a reporting obligation to inform the CPSC if they learn of any products for children, which exceed the lead limits.

Court Decision: Vaccines Don’t Cause Autism

On February 12, 2009, a special court ruled that vaccines do not cause autism in children. The court began hearing three types of autism related cases in 2007. The ruling today concerned only one type of cases, the allegation that autism was caused by the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine and other vaccines containing thimerosal, which contains mercury. With these types of cases, the court found there was no association or causal link between vaccines and autism. The court has yet to rule on the other two types of cases: autism caused by the MMR vaccine alone and autism called by thimerosal containing vaccines alone. The parents of autistic children filed petitions with the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) seeking compensation, which led to the special court hearing.

Understandably, both the medical and scientific communities are anxious to find what exactly causes autism. Autism is a very complicated developmental and neurological disorder. Autism affects the brain, which leads to abnormal communication skills and social interactions. Autism is one of five disorders, collectively called PDD (pervasive developmental disorders). The other disorders include Asperger’s, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD) and Rett’s Disorder.

Autism is the most common PDD disorder and affects roughly 1.5 million people. According to recent statistics, the number of people with some form of autism is rising. In Rhode Island public school’s the number of autistic children increased by 1,500 from 1992 to 2002. Current statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 1 out of 150 babies are born with some form of autism. In addition, the rate of autism is much higher for males, than females. Boys are four times more likely to be autistic than girls.

The debate over the cause of autism has been raging for some time. There is not any single known cause of autism. Potential causes suggested by scientists, medical professionals and parents include genetics, medical problems, pregnancy problems, environmental factors and toxins and vaccines. There is a lack of consensus among scientists and medical professionals as to the potential causes of autism. Although the special court determined vaccines do not cause autism, it is unclear whether others will agree with their decision.