The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has voted unanimously to eliminate mandatory, third-party testing for seven plastics with specific additives used in children’s toys and other child care articles.
By a 5 to 0 vote at the end of August, the Commission determined that the presence of any of seven plastic substances (polypropylene, polyethylene, high-impact polystyrene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, general purpose polystyrene, medium-impact polystyrene and super-hit-impact polystyrene) in toys and child care articles does not constitute a health risk to children, and that third-party testing required for phthalates would no longer be applicable to these plastics.
Regulations and mandatory testing of six other specified phthalates is still required under the provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).
Read the CPSC’s final rule as published in the Federal Register. The rule takes effect on September 29, 2017.
