Cincinnati partner Robin Harvey, Litigation Coordinator in the Cincinnati office, authored an article, "Phthalates Regulation for Toys and Child Care Products," which was published in the May 18, 2009, edition of the Bureau of National Affairs Product Safety & Liability Reporter.
According to Harvey, "In the rush to regulate the contents of children's toys following the Summer 2007 disclosures of lead contaminated toys made in China, Congress enacted the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA or the Act). The CPSIA created approximately 17 new requirements for a range of consumer products far broader than toys. Among the substances now regulated in toys and children's care articles are six specific phthalates under Section 108 of the Act."
Harvey's article goes on to provide of overview of the Act's phthalate limits and key definitions, and discusses the science of phthalates, testing protocols, enforcement, and other issues raised by the law, including labeling, tracking and advertising, import/export issues and the civil and criminal penalties associated with the Act.
Harvey concludes: "With children's health and welfare at issue, the CPSIA is not being relegated to the backwaters as the original CPSA was. Moving consumer product companies from a relatively unregulated state into highly regulated industries requires full scale analysis of product lines in the context of appropriate risk management considerations. The transition from relatively low level regulation to this highly regulated environment over the next five years promises to be painful and full of unexpected outcomes that will require vigilant and constant counseling."