PIA Pushes for Extension on Testing Stay
WASHINGTON, DC—The Printing Industries of America has formally petitioned the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), requesting an extension of the current stay of enforcement for certain testing and certification requirements for children's books and printed materials mandated in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement ACT (CPSIA).
The move by PIA was expected. The CPSIA, passed in 2008, seeks to limit the presence of lead and other toxic chemicals in products intended for children under the age of 12. The CPSC delayed full implementation of the act for one year due to a lack of regulatory and enforcement guidelines.
PIA membership, publishers and other impacted parties have worked to provide scientific data, technical guidance and manufacturing processes information to the CPSC in order to demonstrate that ordinary children's books and other printed paper-based materials do not contain lead near the limits established by the CPSIA. The CPSC determined certain book components and printing material, such as paper and CMYK process inks, are not required to be tested for lead content under the act.
However, other critical components to the manufacturing process, such as spot inks and polyester and polypropylene clear films, would require testing.
The cost for testing averages between $350 and $500 and would require destruction of multiple copies of that product. The petition also addressed concerns regarding the lack of approved third-party laboratories that could perform required tests.