Second-hand stores to be exempt from new lead testing law on children's products
Federal regulators say such shops won't be required to test used merchandise for lead by Feb. 10. But they can't sell items that exceed lead limits and should 'avoid' products that may contain lead.
Federal regulators have shifted gears and will effectively exempt thrift stores from a new law requiring children's products to be tested for lead.
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, passed last year by Congress to protect children from toys that contain lead and other dangerous chemicals, says that products that have not been tested for lead content by Feb. 10 will be considered hazardous. Sellers could face penalties for having such items on their shelves.
Thrift and consignment store operators protested that they did not have the resources to test all of their children's products and that being required to do so would force them out of business.
The guidance today from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which interprets and enforces the law, states that "sellers of used children's products, such as thrift stores and consignment stores, are not required to certify that those products meet the new lead limits."
"I am praising God I am so happy," said Trish Taylor, owner of Reruns for Wee Ones, a consignment store in Fairfield, Ohio, that was going to stop buying children's clothing today in anticipation of the law. "I would have had to close down; my employees would be without jobs."
The CPSC did emphasize that second-hand shops cannot sell products that exceed the lead limits and should "avoid" products that may contain lead. That may mean, for example, that such shops need to be more vigilant about recall notices. It became illegal to sell recalled products on Aug. 14, 2008, the day the measure was signed into law.
"They'll need to look at a product and make an informed decision," said CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese.
Some groups still are chafing over the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. Children's clothing manufacturers still have to comply with the law, which means that small businesses that make children's clothing must pay to get their clothing tested or close their doors. Toy makers also must still comply. Publishers and libraries are concerned that they, too, need to test books for lead content.
"I was floored -- we don't know what to do," said Linda Salisbury, an author and co-owner of Tabby House, a book packager and publisher near Mineral, Va. "It doesn't make any sense."
On Tuesday, the Assn. of American Publishers sent a letter to members of Congress about the law after the CPSC advised that books would need to be tested under the new law. It spoke of a "nightmarish scenario" in which books would need to be subjected to time-consuming testing processes.
Libraries will need to test their books as well, said Jenni Terry, a spokeswoman with the American Library Assn.'s Washington office. Her organization says that libraries will need to take books off shelves if they cannot test them by the Feb. 10 deadline. It sent Congress a letter today informing lawmakers of this problem.
"Books are safe and we hope that CPSC will release a new opinion about them," Terry said.
alana.semuels@latimes.com
