CPSC Halts Import of Nearly 1 Million Units in FY2012 Q4

CPSC stopped more than 900,000 violative units in the 4th quarter of fiscal 2012. Some 87% were children’s products, the agency reported July 26. In the three months that ended September 30, CPSC staff, with Customs and Border Protection (CBP), performed more than 5,900 screenings at U.S. ports, searching for products that violate CPSC regulations or have other defects. Of the 410 products stopped, 87% of them (356) were children’s products. A total of 909,593 total units were stopped. The top six violations/defects for the stopped products were:

• Lead content: 222 products (62% of total); most had lead content (195) and others had lead in paint (27)

   

• Small parts: 52 (15%)

   

• Certification issues: 37 (10%)

   

• Phthalates: 16 (4%)

   

• Tracking labels: 16 (4%)

   

• Issues with durable nursery goods: 5 (1%)

   

CPSC and CPB also stopped 54 non-children’s products during the 4th quarter, totaling 70,717 units. These products fell into eight categories:

• Luminaries: 14 (26%)

   

• Cigarette and multi-purpose lighters: 10 (19%)

   

• Fireworks: 8 (15%)

   

• Bicycle Helmets: 3 (6%)

   

• Hairdryers: 3 (6%)

   

• Electric aquarium equipment: 3 (6%)

   

• Generator labeling: 2 (4%)

   

• Mattresses: 2 (4%)

   

Electric fans, electric flat irons, portable electric lamps, and “other substantial product hazards” comprised the remaining 14% of non-children’s stopped products.

For the whole of FY 2012, the partnership stopped approximately 1,500 products (4.8 million total units). The 3rd quarter of FY 2012 saw the highest number of stopped units at 2.8 million (due mainly to the import of fireworks for the Memorial and Independence Day holidays).

The 4th quarter was second with nearly 910,000 stopped units, the 1st quarter ranked third with about 708,000 units, and the 2nd quarter ranked 4th with some 452,000 units.