A Full Plate of Hazards for CPSC

There’s a lot going on at the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Several news items have popped up this week covering a variety of the products the agency is responsible for keeping safe. Strung together, the stories show an agency struggling to regain its footing as a trusted regulator after years of dawdling.

Here’s a quick recap of some of the stories and my impressions at first blush of how CSPC is handling them.

Chinese Drywall

CPSC released yesterday [1] a report examining the health effects of contaminated Chinese drywall. The Chinese drywall has been increasingly showing up in American homes, especially in areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The drywall has been causing [2] breathing problems and skin irritation and has corroded home fixtures.

Verdict: Thumbs down. The report identifies a strong correlation between the drywall and corrosion but still only classifies the link between drywall and health effects as probable. Nonetheless, CPSC is urging those who live in homes containing the drywall to spend more time outdoors. Absent a definitive position, CPSC is breeding uncertainty and fear.

The report also says, “There are several known inventories of uninstalled Chinese drywall in the United States and the owners of these stockpiles have been notified of this ongoing investigation and advised to notify the CPSC if they sell or dispose of any drywall from their inventory.” So, as long as CPSC is notified, this stuff could still be sold and end up in homes?

Crib recall

CPSC and Stork Craft Manufacturing announced yesterday that Stork is recalling more than two million drop side cribs after they were linked to the deaths of four infants.

Verdict: Thumbs up. CPSC Chairwoman Inez Tenenbaum said yesterday that her agency had not moved quickly enough on the cribs, but she is attempting to make up for the delay. In addition to the mega recall, “Tenenbaum said there is a compelling reason to ban the cribs altogether,” AP reports. [3] This is the kind of strong warning and decisive statement missing from the drywall story.

Lead and Phthalates in Toys

A new report from U.S. PIRG [4] finds that a substantial number of toys still contain lead and phthalates, a harmful class of chemicals found in certain plastics, even though Congress directed [5] CPSC to ban both substances.

Verdict: Thumbs sideways. I don’t want to excuse lead contaminated toys, but Congress gave CPSC a big job when it banned lead and phthalates, and it did not give the agency or manufacturers much time to respond. The PIRG report also points out that CPSC has successfully orchestrated recalls of many products found to be in violation of the lead standard. PIRG spokeswoman Elizabeth Hitchcock told the Washington Post [6], "We have seen substantial progress over the last year” but "At the same time, we are seeing some products that slip through the cracks."

ATV safety

The New York Times reports [7]today that the CPSC is in the midst of a big outreach effort to educate consumers about all-terrain vehicle safety, especially for young riders. CPSC is also keeping a watchful eye on imported ATVs, some of which do not meet mandatory safety standards that went into effect in April.

Verdict: Incomplete. As the Times reports, holding imported ATVs to the U.S. standard isn’t good enough, since the U.S. standard is not sufficient in the first place. CPSC’s outreach efforts are good, but CPSC will need to work hard to significantly reduce the dangers associated with ATV use. ATV accidents kill hundreds of people every year.