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New Safety Agency Chief Pledges Greater Openness

But industry lobbyists lie in wait for Inez Tenenbaum

By James R. Hood
ConsumerAffairs.com

July 13, 2009

Tenenbaum

Consumers hoping to get product safety information from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are often surprised to find that, unless a product has been recalled, trying to find out what the agency knows about is -- to say the least -- difficult.

To put it mildly, the agency hardly goes out of its way to make information easily available to the taxpayers who pay for gathering and processing it. Even checking for recalled products requires strong eyesight and plenty of patience. The list of recalled toys, for example, is a jumble of fine print, filed in date order and often using corporate names that don't correspond to the recalled products' brand names.

Want to get a look at incident reports filed with the agency by consumers? Sorry. File a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and someone may get back to you, someday.

But the agency's new chair, Inez Moore Tenenbaum, says she wants to change all that, although she also faces a host of pressing issues each with its own corps of fervent lobbyists. The South Carolina educator and attorney was named to the post by President Obama in June and, with remarkable rapidity, was confirmed by the Senate 10 days later and sworn in June 23.

Tenenbaum, a former state superintendent of education in South Carolina, plans to be "a consumer advocate for families across the United States,” she said. “My life’s work has been to improve the quality of life for children and it will continue to be my highest priority at CPSC.”

Tenenbaum said she would use a "common-sense approach" to identify top goals, with greater openness leading the list.

“First, I want CPSC to be more accessible and transparent to parents and consumers. By creating an electronic database of product incident reports that consumers can search and by collaborating with state and local agencies and consumer groups, we can give the public confidence that CPSC is working openly and in their best interest,” she said in a statement at her swearing-in.

Tenenbaum said she will also prioritize education and advocacy during her tenure. “My background is in public education and I believe strongly that all consumers should be informed about product hazards, especially those that impact children. I encourage every consumer to log on to CPSC.gov and sign up to receive free e-mail alerts about recalls,” she said.

Chinese drywall

• Toy Importer to Pay Penalty for Violating Lead Paint Ban • CPSC Outlines Revamped Crib Recall Policy • Mississippi Warns Residents on Unsafe Toys • CPSC Delays Enforcement Of Testing on Kids' Products • Popular Zhu Zhu Pet May Contain Dangerous Chemicals • Report: Fewer Toys Contain Lead but Toxins Still Common • California Warns Retailers On Lead • Mattel Settles Suits Over Dangerous Toys • Target To Pay $600,000 For Violating Lead Paint Ban • Tougher Safety Requirements For Children's Products Now In Effect • Toys 'R' Us Launches Unsafe Baby Products Awareness Program • New Safety Agency Chief Pledges Greater Openness • Obama Names New Consumer Product Safety Chair, Boosts Budget • Toymaker Fined $1.1 Million For Consumer Violations • Maryland Stores Stop Selling Toys With Lead Paint • Toymakers, Craftspeople Up In Arms Over New Safety Law • Thrift Stores Protest Ban on Lead Toys • Target Launches In-Store Recall System • Do's and Don'ts of Holiday Decorating • New Jersey Finds Recalled Toys in Four Stores • Mattel Agrees to Lower Lead Paint Levels in Toys • Consumers Cautioned About Dangerous Toys • Soon-To-Be-Banned Plastic Toys Flooding the Market • Safety Agency Warns of Safety Hazards in Cribs --- • More Consumer Safety News • Recall Notices

Among the issues facing Tenenbaum are Chinese drywall and pressure from industries and retailers hoping to win exemptions from the Children's Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), passed last year in response to a wave of recalls of toys and children's products containing dangerous levels of lead.

The Chinese drywall, used extensively in Florida and Louisiana and other southeastern states, poses risks to both property values and homeowners' health. The wallboard emits an egg-like sulfur smell, which corrodes metal fixtures like air conditioners, and causes health problems ranging from coughing and wheezing to asthma and pneumonia.

The drywall was imported when domestic manufacturers were unable to supply enough drywall to keep up with the pre-Recession housing boom. Numerous lawsuits have been filed and both Congress and various state legislatures are considering legislation. The CPSC has said it is investigating the issue but so far has not taken any action.

Children's books

In what is perhaps a more bizarre situation, small retailers, thrift shops and charities are claiming they should be exempt from the CPSIA's restrictions, which are meant to protect children from mental retardation that can result from exposure to lead as well as other, more obvious injuries, including asphyxiation and choking from small objects that can detach from toys and be swallowed or inhaled by infants.

The protestors don't argue that lead is not harmful or that children are not at risk, they simply contend it is too much trouble for them to comply with the law. The executive director of the National Association of Resale & Thrift Shops claimed earlier this year that her members "are just in an absolute panic."

Even libraries and children's book publishers are getting into the act.

"We really think this law should not apply to children’s books on library shelves,” Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the American Library Association’s Washington office, told Publisher's Weekly earlier this month.

And why is that, one might ask? After all, numerous children's books have been recalled because they contain dangerous levels of lead-based paint, objects that can come loose and cause choking in infants and other hazards. For example:

• In June 2006, Simon & Schuster recalled "Curious Buddies" pop-up books because felt ears and limbs on the pop-up characters can detach or come apart when pulled, which may pose a choking hazard to young children

• In April 2008, Dalmation Press recalled Little Builder Children’s Board Books. The cylinder on the toy concrete mixer and the tailgate on the toy dump truck can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children.

• In August 2007, 250,000 SpongeBob SquarePants address books and journals were recalled because of a lead poisoning hazard.

Tenenbaum has so far kept her own counsel on these and other issues but has said that she is committed to enforcing the law and working to keep dangerous products, particularly imports, out of the hands of consumers.

“Parents should know that CPSC will improve the standards for toys and durable nursery products to help keep kids safe. We will also create a system that uses third party laboratories, tracking labels, and CPSC staff at major ports, to do our part to ensure that product imports are safe and comply with U.S. safety rules,” she said.

Whether the tiny agency is able to withstand the incessant carping of politically-connected industries and non-profits remains to be seen. Tenenbaum will need to call on every political skill she learned in her years in South Carolina to prevail.

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