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BRAVO! Strong Consumer Product Safety Bill Passed ~ Bans Lead & Phthalates



 
 
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Old August 3rd 08, 03:58 PM posted to sci.environment,talk.politics.medicine,misc.kids.health
Ilena Rose
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Posts: 1,139
Default BRAVO! Strong Consumer Product Safety Bill Passed ~ Bans Lead & Phthalates

Great news brought to you here by Health Lover, Ilena Rosenthal!
http://ilenarose.blogspot.com
For years, the junk science / quackwatch / ACSH.org industry front
group propagandists have been denying the harm of phthalates.
http://www.BreastImplantAwareness.or...WatchWatch.htm
www.BreastImplantAwareness.org/Snake-oil.htm
List of corporate mouths on the internet headed by Stephen Barrett,
fake skeptic.

EXCERPT: "Congress passed today the strongest consumer product safety
bill in 30 years," said Dr. Diana Zuckerman, President of the National
Research Center for Women & Families. "Our children and grandchildren
are the big winners because their toys will be safer."

http://www.infozine.com/news/stories...iew/sid/29718/


Washington, D.C. - infoZine - Consumer, public interest and
scientific groups applaud the U.S. Senate for passing by a vote of
89-3, strong product safety reform legislation that would overhaul the
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The bipartisan Consumer
Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 will make consumer products
safer by requiring that toys and infant products be tested before they
are sold, and by banning lead and phthalates in toys. The bill also
will create the first comprehensive publicly accessible consumer
complaint database, give the CPSC the resources it needs to protect
the public, increase civil penalties that CPSC can assess against
violators of CPSC laws, and protect whistleblowers who report product
safety defects.

The groups praised the Senate Conferees for their tireless work in
reconciling the House and Senate versions of the CPSC reform bill:
Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), Chairman
Mark Pryor (D-AR) , Senator John Sununu (R-NH) , Senator Barbara Boxer
(D-CA) Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
(R-TX). The groups also thank Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), Senator
Claire McCaskill (D-MO) , and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) for
their critical work on this bill.

In approving this sweeping reform measure, the Senate put children's
and consumers' safety first by enacting the most significant
improvements of the Consumer Product Safety Commission since the
agency was established in the 1970's. The bill was approved by the
U.S. House of Representatives on July 30th by an overwhelming vote of
424-1. The President must sign this bill into law this week, before
the August recess, the groups urged.

"My family and I are so honored that the portion of the bill that will
protect children from unsafe infant and toddler products such as cribs
is named for our son Danny," stated Linda Ginzel, president of Kids In
Danger. Ginzel and her husband Boaz Keysar founded the organization to
protect children from unsafe children's products after Danny's death
in 1998 in a recalled defective portable crib. The Danny Keysar
Product Safety Notification Act, which is contained within the
Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008,would require
mandatory standards and testing for specific infant and toddler
products, ban the sale, lease or use in commercial settings of cribs
that do not meet current safety standards, and would require
manufacturers to include product registration cards with new products
to facilitate notice of recalled products. "This, along with Kids In
Danger, is Danny's legacy," added Ginzel.

"This bill represents the most significant improvements to product
safety since Congress created the CPSC in the 1970's. This reform is
much needed, long overdue and necessary to ensure that CPSC can
successfully ensure the safety of consumer products," stated Rachel
Weintraub, Director of Product Safety and Senior Counsel with Consumer
Federation of America. "We applaud the Senate for their strong vote in
support of consumer safety today."

"This week, Congress responded to the wishes of parents and children
all across America and passed legislation that will help restore our
confidence in the safety of our toys and everyday products," said Ami
Gadhia, Policy Counsel for Consumers Union. "This landmark,
bi-partisan legislation will overhaul an agency that - as reported by
Consumer Reports magazine - was unable to do its job for far too long.
The President should now sign on the dotted line and turn this bill
into law," Gadhia added.

"This bill introduces critical reforms like ensuring that toys are
tested for safety before they go on the market, banning certain
hazardous substances, and creating an online database for consumers to
share information about dangerous products with each other," said
David Arkush, Director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch division.
"Consumers don't always come out on top in Congress, especially when
big business fights hard, but this time consumers won big. Congress
deserves applause."

"We applaud the Senate for acting to get toxic chemicals like lead and
phthalates out of our children's toys," said U.S. PIRG Public Health
Advocate Elizabeth Hitchcock. "This bill is a huge victory for
America's littlest consumers in the face of ExxonMobil and the
chemical industry's efforts to gut it. The conferees and their staff
deserve tremendous credit for bringing it over the finish line."

"Congress passed today the strongest consumer product safety bill in
30 years," said Dr. Diana Zuckerman, President of the National
Research Center for Women & Families. "Our children and grandchildren
are the big winners because their toys will be safer."

"This bill will enhance the scientific integrity of the CPSC, protect
whistleblowers and improve consumer safety by making the agency more
transparent and accountable," said Dr. Francesca T. Grifo, director of
the Scientific Integrity Program, Union of Concerned Scientists.

The House and Senate conferees on the product safety measure concluded
action this weekend. The conference report on the legislation must now
be approved by the President for his signature. Here are some examples
of how this legislation changes and improves the safety of products
sold in the United States:


Lead will be essentially eliminated from toys and children's products.


Consumers will have access to a publicly-accessible database to report
and learn about hazards posed by unsafe products.


Toys and other children's products will be required to be tested for
safety before they are sold.


State Attorneys General will have the necessary authority to enforce
product safety laws.


CPSC has the authority to levy more significant civil penalties
against violators of its safety regulations, which will help deter
wrongdoing.


Toxic phthalates will be been banned from children's products.


Whistleblowers will be granted important protections.


CPSC will receive substantial increases in its resources - including
its staffing levels, its laboratory and computer resources and its
various authorities to conduct recalls and take other actions - going
forward.


 




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