Monday October 19, 2015

CPSC Stopped More Shipments but Fewer Units in FY2014 Port Activity

By Sean Oberle

Other Stories in the October 19, 2015 issue ofPRODUCT SAFETY LETTERavailable to only paid subscribers

Trilateral Product Safety Summit Targets North America

CPSC representatives, including Chairman Elliot Kaye, will meet with Canadian and Mexican counterparts November 18 and 19 to discuss product safety.

Play Yard Mattress Petition Gets Support from Commenters

More than 100 comments to CPSC favored a petition to CPSC seeking a ban of supplemental mattresses for play yards with non-rigid sides.

GAO Reviews Chemicals Management Programs outside USA

The Government Accountability Office October 8 reported its assessments of chemicals management programs by Australia, Canada and the World Health Organization.

Delayed Ignitions Are Frustration for CSA Gas Fireplace Panel

Frustration was the prominent emotion in an October 9 discussion by a CSA ANSI Z21 panel on mitigating delayed ignitions in gas fireplaces.

Laundry Packet Panel Aims to Showcase Work Next Year

An ASTM F15.71 panel October 9 discussed plans for a public discussion of work towards the recently adopted laundry packets standard.

CO Caused 864 Deaths Linked to Engine-Driven Tools in 11 Years

There were 864 non-fire carbon monoxide (CO) deaths associated with engine-driven tools from 2004 to 2014, according to a CPSC report available October 13.

CPSC and AHAM Talk about Dryer Fires and Lint Survey

CPSC staffers October 13 discussed clothes dryer internal temperature and insulation, survey progress, and sample lint issues with members of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers.

Fuel Can Group Gives Flame Mitigation Update to Commissioners

Representatives of the Portable Fuel Container Manufacturers Association (PFCMA) October 13 sought guidance on compliance issues and discussed the ASTM F15.10 flame mitigation task group’s progress with CPSC commissioners.

Flame Arrestors Panel Hears of Phase III of WPI Work

An ASTM F15.10 task group on gasoline container flame arrestors October 14 heard about four tests to be done by Worcester Polytechnic Institute in phase 3 of its work for the panel.

Flammable Refrigerants Group Starts Planning Work

A CANENA 61C working group October 14 held a kickoff session about what to do with flammable refrigerants in 60335-2-24 standards.

Toy Ingestion Preliminary Report Aimed for November

A preliminary report is expected in November on an EU consultation on estimating how much toy materials children ingest.

EU Report Looks at 3D Printing Challenges

An EU opinion report made available earlier in October discusses the issues that regulators will face with 3D printing, including safety.

CPSC stopped about 1,600 import shipments in FY 2014, it reported earlier in October in its On Safety blog. This compares to nearly 1,300 shipments in FY2013 (PSL, 5/12/14).

Despite the increase, the number of units involved went down: 4.7 million from 14.3 million. However, detentions of children's products increased by both measures – shipments (1,300 from 1,150) and units (4 million from 3.3 million).

CPSC and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) staff screened some 28,000 shipments in FY2014 via the Risk Assessment Methodology (RAM). This number for FY 2013 was about 26,400. However, the average pace was the same in the second half of FY2013, when the number was 14,000.

The RAM has been a pilot project for numerous years, but the agency is seeking a scale up to broader use. In FY2016 (began October 1), it is targeting about $3.6 million in contract money towards related functional and software issues (PSL, 10/5/15).

It also has sought user fee authority from Congress (PSL, 2/9/15) to support the scale-up. It did not receive it in last year's budget and still has not this year.

CPSC/CBP RAM Activity at the Ports (rounded)
Activity	FY2013^*	FY2014^#
Shipments screened	26,400	28,000
Shipments held (all products)	1,280	1,600
Shipments held (children's products)	1,150	1,300
Units detained (all products)	14.3 million	4.7 million
Units detained (children's products)	3.3 million	4.0 million
^*Sources: CPSC press releases 5/5/14 & 12/2/13. ^#Source: CPSC blog 10/6/15.