View source for Consumer Product Safety Act

{{Short description|1972 American legislation}}
{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| shorttitle = Consumer Product Safety Act
| othershorttitles = CPSA
| longtitle = An Act to protect consumers against unreasonable risk of injury from hazardous products, and for other purposes.
| colloquialacronym = 
| nickname = 
| enacted by = 92nd
| effective date = on the sixtieth day (December 26, 1972) following the date of its enactment (October 27, 1972)
| public law url = http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-86/pdf/STATUTE-86-Pg1207.pdf
| cite public law = 92-573
| cite statutes at large = {{usstat|86|1207}}
| acts amended = 
| acts repealed = 
| title amended = [[Title 15 of the United States Code|15 U.S.C.: Commerce and Trade]]
| sections created = {{Usc-title-chap|15|47}} § 2051 et seq.
| sections amended = 
| leghisturl = https://www.congress.gov/bill/92nd-congress/senate-bill/3419/actions
| introducedin = Senate
| introducedbill = {{USBill|92|s|3419}}
| introducedby = 
| introduceddate = 24 March 1972
| committees = 
| passedbody1 = Senate
| passeddate1 = 21 June 1972
| passedvote1 = 
| passedbody2 = House
| passedas2 = <!-- used if the second body changes the name of the legislation -->
| passeddate2 = 20 September 1972
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| passedbody4 = 
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| signedpresident = [[Richard Nixon]]
| signeddate = October 27, 1972
| unsignedpresident = <!-- used when passed without presidential signing -->
| unsigneddate = <!-- used when passed without presidential signing -->
| vetoedpresident = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| vetoeddate = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
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}}
The '''Consumer Safety Act''' ('''CPSA''') was enacted on October 27, 1972, by the [[United States Congress]].  The act should not be confused with an earlier Senate Joint Resolution 33 of November 20, 1967, which merely established a temporary National Commission on Product Safety (NCPS), and for only 90-days (at a pittance of $100 per day).{{explain|date=October 2023}}  The fourth section of the law established the [[Consumer Product Safety Commission|United States Consumer Product Safety Commission]] (CPSC) as a permanent [[Independent agencies of the United States government|independent agency of the United States federal government]] and defined its basic authority. The act gives CPSC the power to develop safety standards and pursue recalls for products that present unreasonable or substantial risks of injury or death to consumers. It also allows CPSC to ban a product if there is no feasible alternative to an outright ban. CPSC has jurisdiction over more than 15,000 different consumer products. The CPSA excludes from jurisdiction those products that expressly lie in another federal agency's jurisdiction, for example food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, tobacco products, firearms and ammunition, motor vehicles, pesticides, aircraft, and boats. These products may fall under the purview of agencies such as the [[U.S. Food and Drug Administration]], the [[U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives]], the [[U.S. Department of Agriculture]], the [[U.S. Department of Transportation]], the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|U.S. Environment Protection Agency]], and the [[Federal Aviation Administration|U.S. Federal Aviation Administration]].

The CPSA is codified at {{USC|15|2051|2084}}. Federal regulations associated with the act are at Title 16 CFR parts 1101 through 1406. These regulations are numerous and include such laws as the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA), safety standards for such products as [[bicycle helmet]]s and cigarette lighters, a ban on lead in paint, and a rule concerning size requirements for toys that could be choking hazards for young children.

==Related improvements and amendments==
On 2008-08-14, the [[Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act]] of 2008 became effective.[http://www.cpsc.gov/cpsia.pdf] Among other provisions, its Section 219 (15 U.S.C. 2051) protects [[whistleblower|whistle blower]]s who take certain actions to raise concerns about consumer product safety.  Those who believe they suffered unlawful retaliation for raising such concerns have 180 days to file a written complaint with [[Occupational Safety and Health Administration|OSHA]] seeking statutory remedies.

It requires manufacturers and importers of all children's products to have batches of their products tested by an independent certified laboratory. It affected, among other things, distribution of children's books which may contain small amounts of lead. Public libraries were forced to pull thousands of books from their shelves.[http://www.ncnewspress.com/articles/2009/02/20/news/doc499ed094480fd323904423.txt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223123405/http://www.ncnewspress.com/articles/2009/02/20/news/doc499ed094480fd323904423.txt |date=2009-02-23 }} Testing books for lead would cost about $300 per book, according to a spokeswoman for the American Library Association, which has opposed the law.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090223084114/http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/696357.html] In 2011, President Obama signed HR 2715 into law, which exempted ordinary books from testing requirements.

Coffee shops, second-hand goods stores, and others selling children's goods including books manufactured before 1985 may not sell children's goods that violate the lead standards. In order to assure themselves of the safety of those products, they may use a variety of means, the most reliable of which would be lead testing on the products.[https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/feb/20/kalder-childrens-books-lead-panic]

The CPSIA law had threatened sales of motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles built for children under 12, as internal parts of the bikes are built with alloys containing a small amount of lead.[https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-02-16-motorcycleban_N.htm] However, these too were also exempted under the 2011 amendment.

==External links==
* [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-384/uslm/COMPS-384.xml Consumer Product Safety Act] ([https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-384/pdf/COMPS-384.pdf PDF]/[https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/COMPS-384/ details]) as amended in the [[United States Government Publishing Office|GPO]] [https://www.govinfo.gov/help/comps Statute Compilations collection]
*[http://www.cpsc.gov/ US Consumer Product Safety Commission website]
* [https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-II Consumer Product Safety Commission] regulations in the [[Code of Federal Regulations]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090321002843/http://www.narts.org/CPSIA_Info.htm National Association of Resale & Thrift Shops- CPSIA Resources]
*[http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/bolingbrooksun/business/1435993,6_3_NA18_TOYS_S1.article New safety law puts thrift store  goods under the microscope]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110727152534/http://www.mpnnow.com/news/x1848774233/Lead-law-hits-thrift-stores Lead law hits thrift stores]
*[http://www.lemarssentinel.com/story/1501872.html Goodwill stores empty shelves of kids' toys, clothes]
*[http://www.newsargus.com/news/archives/2009/02/15/new_law_has_thrift_stores_worried_about_the_toys_on_their_shelves/ New law has thrift stores worried about the toys on their shelves]
*[https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R45174.pdf The Consumer Product Safety Act: A Legal Analysis] [[Congressional Research Service]]

{{Presidency of Richard Nixon}}

[[Category:1972 in American law]]
[[Category:92nd United States Congress]]
[[Category:Consumer protection legislation]]
[[Category:U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission]]
[[Category:United States federal commerce legislation]]
[[Category:Consumer protection in the United States]]