CPSC Delays Uniform Testing for Lead Exposure Until End of Year

Requirements that products sold to children receive uniform lead testing has been delayed for a sixth time by federal regulators. 

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted to delay lead testing requirements approved in 2008 until December 31, 2011. The regulations would require all manufacturers who make products for children ages 12 and under to have their products tested for lead exposure at third-party testing laboratories approved by the CPSC.

It is the sixth time the compliance requirement has been pushed back to give small businesses more time to comply. The testing requirement was scheduled to go into effect next week. The commission voted four to one in favor of the delay on Tuesday.

The lead testing requirements are part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008. It is meant to eliminate disparity and promote uniformity in lead testing on toys, clothing and other children’s products. However, the CPSC is still in the process of writing many of the new testing rules, which industry groups have complained makes it hard for them prepare for compliance.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) consider 10 milligrams of lead per deciliter of blood to be the level of concern for exposure to lead. The CDC estimates that approximately 250,000 children in the U.S. have blood lead levels that high or higher.

Lead poisoning can result in nervous system injury, brain damage, seizures or convulsions, growth or mental retardation, coma and even death for young children. 

While high levels of lead exposure are often the focus of scientists, recent research has highlighted the effects of even low levels of exposure to lead on children. Other studies have tied low lead exposure to the development of kidney damage and depression and panic disorders.