US CPSC Publishes the CPSIA FAQ and General Certification of Conformity: Sample and Instructions for Completion

CPSIA FAQ

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has published answers to FAQ with regards to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA).

Preemption:
The new lead limits for lead paint and lead content preempt state laws as do the new provisions on phthalates and ATVs. The CPSC will be addressing which of those state laws that are designed to deal with the same risk of injury as the ASTM F963-07 toy safety standard will remain in effect.

Compositing:
Combining different paints or substrates from one or more samples to reduce the number of tests run may fail to detect excessive levels of lead in one individual paint or substrate because they have been diluted. This approach is therefore not acceptable by the CPSC.

Packaging:
CPSIA defines children's products as those products intended primarily for use by children 12 and under. Packaging is generally not intended for use by children, given that most packaging is discarded and is not used or played with as a children's product. However, if the packaging is intended to be reused, or used in conjunction with the children's product, it becomes a component or part of the product, and would be subject to the lead requirements of CPSIA. It should also be noted that many individual states have adopted packaging laws which address toxics in packaging or packaging components and which have not been preempted by Commission action.

The complete list of the FAQ can be downloaded in PDF via the CPSC website: http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/faq.pdf

CPSIA General Certification of Conformity: Sample and Instructions for completion

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has published the sample, instructions for completion and FAQ with regards to the General Certification of Conformity required by section 14(g) of the Consumer Product Safety Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2063(g).

Identification of the product covered by this certificate:
Description must be detailed enough to allow the matching of the certificate to the product it covers.

Citation to each CPSC product safety regulation to which the product is being certified:
The certificate shall identify separately each applicable CPSC rule under the CPSA and any similar ban, rule, standard or regulation.

Identification of the foreign or domestic manufacturer certifying compliance of the product:
Provide the name, full mailing address and tel no. of the manufacturer of the product.

Identification of the US importer certifying compliance of the product (if applicable):
Provide the name, full mailing address and tel no. of the US importer. This information may be omitted if the importer chooses to certify separately.

Identification of the private labeler certifying compliance of the product (if applicable):
Provide the name, full mailing address and tel no. of the private labeler. This information may be omitted if the private labeler chooses to certify separately.

Contact information of the person maintaining test records/results:
Provide the name, full mailing address, email address and tel no. of the person maintaining test records.

Date and place where this product was manufactured:
Provide the date when the product was manufactured by at least month and year. If the place of manufacture is different from the manufacturer certifying compliance of the product, provide at least the city and country or administrative region, of the place of final assembly. If the same manufacturer operates more than one location in the same city, provide the street address of the factory.

Date and place where this product was tested for compliance with the regulation(s) cited above:
Provide date of the test report(s) on which certification is being based and the location where it was tested.

Identification of any third-party laboratory on whose testing the certificate depends:
Provide the name, full mailing address and tel no. of the laboratory if a third-party laboratory tested the product or conducted a testing program on which the certification is based.

The complete document, which includes the FAQ, can be downloaded in PDF via the CPSC website: http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/elecertfaq.pdf

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