The Consumer Product Safety Commission has stated in the October 29 Federal Register the release of a document titled “Statement of Policy: Testing and Certification of Lead Content in Children’s Products”. This document provides guidance on complying with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).

The Federal Register article can be found here: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-26080.htm

The 5 page pdf version of the lead policy is available here: http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/leadpolicy.pdf

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Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: CPSC compliance, OSHA MSDS authoring, MSDS authoring

As previously posted  Bill C-6, also known as the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) was introduced by the Government of Canada on January 29, 2009. The proposed Act, if passed will replace Part I of the Hazardous Products Act. Its purpose is to modernize and strengthen the product safety laws to protect the health and safety of all Canadians. It will continue to introduce measures which will make consumer products safer for Canadians and their children by prohibiting the manufacture and importation of unsafe products. Additionally, the Canadian government will have the power to order recalls of unsafe products.

Health Canada has posted several fact sheets about the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act. The following link from Health Canada gives information for consumers, retailers, and suppliers: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/legislation/acts-lois/bill_c6-loi-eng.php

There are also new FAQs in regards to Inspectors’ Powers under the proposed CCPSA which can be found here: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/legislation/acts-lois/bill_c6_faq-loi-eng.php

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: CCCR compliance, WHMIS MSDS authoring, MSDS authoring

From the US Environmental Protection Agency:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued the first test orders for pesticide chemicals to be screened for their potential effects on the endocrine system. Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that interact with and disrupt the hormones produced or secreted by human and animal endocrine systems, which regulate growth, metabolism and reproduction.

“After years of delay, EPA is aggressively moving forward by ordering the testing of a number of pesticide chemicals for hormone effects,” said Steve Owens, assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances. “These new data will be carefully evaluated to help identify potential hormone disruptor chemicals.”

Testing, conducted through the agency’s Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program, will eventually expand to cover all pesticide chemicals. Now that screening is under way for the first group of chemicals, EPA is preparing to review the responses, evaluate the data, determine the potential of endocrine interaction, and whether additional testing is necessary to guide further regulation.

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From the London Daily Telegraph – Why boys are turning into girls:

…[The State of Denmark] government yesterday unveiled official research showing that two-year-old children are at risk from a bewildering array of gender-bending chemicals in such everyday items as waterproof clothes, rubber boots, bed linen, food, nappies, sunscreen lotion and moisturising cream. The 326-page report, published by the environment protection agency, is the latest piece in an increasingly alarming jigsaw. A picture is emerging of ubiquitous chemical contamination driving down sperm counts and feminising male children all over the developed world. And anti-pollution measures and regulations are falling far short of getting to grips with it.

Prominent among them are dioxins, PVC, flame retardants, phthalates (extensively used to soften plastics) and the now largely banned PCBs, one and a half million tons of which were used in countless products from paints to electrical equipment.

Yet gender-benders are largely exempt from new EU regulations controlling hazardous chemicals. Britain, then under Tony Blair’s premiership, was largely responsible for this – restricting their inclusion in the first draft of the legislation, and then causing even what was included to be watered down. Confidential documents show that it did so after pressure from George W Bush’s administration, which protested that US exports “could be impacted”.

Now the Danish government is planning to lobby to have the rules toughened up. It is particularly concerned by other studies which show that gender-bending chemicals acting together have far worse effects than the expected sum of their individual impacts…

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From China Daily:

An investigation that spans the globe into the cause of widespread illness in the United States allegedly from contaminated drywall imported from China continues, but initial clues to answers will be revealed later this week. Safety officials from both China and the US are working together in the probe and the visiting US Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) will release results of initial testing of both Chinese- and US-made drywall…

Thousands of US homeowners complained last year that contaminated drywall from China sickened them or damaged their houses. The allegedly problematic drywall, also known as wallboard or gypsum board, was imported between 2004 and 2008 when the housing industry was booming and supplies were tight in the US…The drywall is believed to cause a chemical reaction, releasing fumes that reek like rotten eggs. US homeowners, mostly in the southeastern regions, blamed the drywall for health woes, such as itchy eyes and skin, difficulty breathing, persistent coughing and bloody noses as well as corrosion of electrical wiring and home appliances.

Tests of Chinese-made drywall by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have found sulfur and two organic compounds associated with acrylic paint – compounds not found in samples of US-made drywall. The EPA report did not draw any conclusions about health risks or whether the boards could be damaging wires in homes.

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Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: CPSC compliance, OSHA MSDS authoring, MSDS authoring

From Essential U:

If you manufacture, sell or distribute household cleaning products the new Household Product Labeling Act of 2009 will change the way labels must read…Current law requires that product labels list immediately hazardous ingredients, but there is no labeling requirement for ingredients that may cause harm over time. Many chemicals contained in household products have been shown to produce harmful health effects and many ingredients that are safe for most people can be major irritants for children with asthma. This legislation makes information readily available to consumers, giving them the opportunity to make an informed choice about the chemicals they bring into their homes.

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Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: CCCR compliance, WHMIS MSDS authoring, MSDS authoring

From CSRwire:

Congress is writing a new proposal to reform TSCA, updating last year’s Kid-Safe Chemicals Act. Scheduled for a Fall 2009 introduction, the policy will address these and many other deficiencies by establishing tough new safety standards for each chemical on the market and requiring manufacturers to prove that their chemicals meet these standards before they can be used in the products people buy. The bill would give the EPA new authority to restrict any substances that fail to pass the test.

To rally support for the Kid-Safe Chemical Act and raise awareness of the urgent issues it addresses, Seventh Generation, Erin Brockovich, and Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families have launched the Million Baby Crawl, an online initiative designed to educate parents, empower them to work on the legislation’s behalf and literally help them create infant avatars. The result will be a virtual march, or crawl, to Washington, DC, where they’ll “rattle” legislators for toxic chemical reform.

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Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: CPSC compliance, OSHA MSDS authoring, MSDS authoring

From AHN:

Health Canada Assistant Deputy Minister Of Consumer Safety Paul Glover pushed for the immediate approval of the consumer product safety bill…Under the proposal, Health Canada would have the power to require manufacturers and importers to recall products that are deemed unsafe for consumer safety…Other powers included in Bill C-6 or the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act are Health Canada could mandate a supplier to perform safety tests and submit results to the health minister, and disclose confidential business information if there is a serious or pending danger to human health. Health Canada agents could also make spot inspections and halt production or distribution of a product considered dangerous to Canadians’ health.

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Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: CCCR compliance, WHMIS MSDS authoring, MSDS authoring

From the Reno Gazette-Journal:

A toxic solvent still widely used by dry cleaners across Washoe County could be banned within 14 years under plans proposed by health officials. On Thursday, the county’s Board of Health will consider rules that would prohibit use of perchloroethylene, also known as PCE or PERC, by area cleaners by 2023. Any new cleaning equipment purchased before then and after the rule’s potential adoption Thursday would have to use alternative technology.

“The time has come,” said Andy Goodrich, director of the health district’s Air Quality Management Division. For years, officials have grappled with problems posed by PCE contamination of ground water in the Truckee Meadows but the proposed regulation focuses solely on the chemical’s impact on air quality, Goodrich said. The ban, based on similar regulations already enacted in California, is needed to protect the public from a hazardous pollutant, Goodrich said.

PCE, once widely used by auto and machine shops, printers and other businesses, is now most widely used as a de-greasing agent by dry cleaners. The solvent has been linked to cancer and other human health conditions after long-term exposure.

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From New America Media:

When supermarket janitors in Local 1877 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) rallied last month at Safeway and Lucky stores in San Jose, Calif., they weren’t only demanding improved wages and health benefits. They were calling for the adoption of green cleaning standards to make their jobs safer. Earlier this year, SEIU janitors in Southern California made similar demands…They were calling attention to the safety of chemicals used to clean supermarkets.

Martha Aragon has been working as a janitor for Safeway in Roseville, Calif., for three years.. ..Green cleaning standards entails not only the use of nontoxic products, she said, but also proper training on how to dilute and dispose of chemicals, and equipment like safety goggles and gloves.

One example is San Francisco’s green purchasing program, which includes an approved list of nontoxic commercial cleaners. Janitors who clean city-owned buildings..in some cases, are required to use products from the approved list. Products are vetted, and whenever possible those with safer ingredients are used…Other institutions have adopted green cleaning standards to protect worker health, including local governments, schools, prisons, office buildings and janitorial services companies. SEIU is following the trend.

Click on the links for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: CPSC compliance, OSHA MSDS authoring, MSDS authoring