Stratton pursues international agenda; signs agreement with government of China

CPSC Monitor,  April, 2004  

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CPSC stands by its news release of September 24, 2003, reiterating that it does not have the statutory authority to force a recall or a ban of the product, given its staff's assessment of the low risk of injury presented. (4)

Agency spokesman Eric Criss, CPSC Director of Public Affairs, said, "Chairman Stratton's office is in the process of responding to Ms. Lipin. Moreover, Ms. Lipin has received multiple responses about Yo Yo Waterballs from many CPSC staffers, including Ann DeTemple, Director of the Injury Clearinghouse. Ms. DeTemple regularly updates Ms. Lipin on the number of consumer complaints received. Marc Schoem in Compliance and Ken Giles in Public Affairs have also had numerous exchanges of email and phone conversations to explain the criteria for recall and to explain procedures for 'petitioning' CPSC. CPSC continues to welcome more data from Ms. Lipin and to discuss the Yo Yo Waterball with people who have questions."

Agency insiders have remarked that if the CPSC's compliance staff thought it could reasonably expect to win a recall case against the importers and distributors of waterballs, it would try. Most agree that there is little likelihood of success in such a case, given the relatively low risk of injury and the high rate of exposure.

CPSC to Review Existing Standards

Comments are coming in from industry on a new Pilot Regulatory Review Project, announced by CPSC in January.

The project seeks systematically to review current regulations to assure consistency and determine whether they can be streamlined.

In the pilot phase of the project, four regulations are being evaluated. The first is the safety standard for walk-behind mowers, the second is the standard for electrically operated toys, and the third is the standard for the flammability of vinyl plastic film. The fourth is an examination of child-resistant requirements for aspirin and methyl salicylate.

The President's Office of Management and Budget Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) stimulated the regulatory review project. This OMB program seeks to provide a consistent approach to rating programs throughout the government.

The agency said that it might apply the results of this pilot project to a review process for the rest of its "substantive" regulations. Such a review could encompass 19 regulations under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), 42 rules under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA), 7 more rules under the FHSA and 31 rules under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA). A rule under the Refrigerator Safety Act could also be reviewed.

ANSI (American National Standards Institute), a voluntary standards group responded in February to the Pilot Project by commenting on the standard for walk-behind power mowers.

Gary M. Bell, Chairman of the ANSI Accredited Standards Committee Z-535 on Safety Signs and Colors, commented that the presently required warning label should be redesigned to meet the criteria in the updated ANSI Z-535.4--2002 standard. Bell said the standard was developed with the principle that "a consistent visual layout for product safety signs and labels helps facilitate the recognition and understanding of the potential hazards being addressed." Bell encouraged CPSC to adopt the ANSI standard and use it to upgrade regulations that were promulgated before its publication. (5)