Safety Regulators Step Up Screenings of Imports

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says has stepped up screening of consumer goods being brought into the United States and, in a press release, claims it has stopped "hundreds of millions" of potentially dangerous products from reaching consumers.

"Working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), CPSC staff screened thousands of consumer products that were either in violation of U.S. standards or otherwise unsafe and stopped them from ever reaching store shelves," the agency said.

As a result, "more than 6.5 million units of about 1,700 different children's products" that did not meet federal safety standards were stopped at U.S. ports in 2010 and 2011, the release continued.

"Intercepting dangerous products as quickly and as early as possible, well before they make their way into the hands of children and other consumers, is consistent with our vision for CPSC to continue enhancing its protection of America's families," said Chairman Inez Tenenbaum.

The products stopped are wide-ranging, the agency said. In addition to toys and other children's products, items intercepted included mattresses, art materials, household chemicals, lighters, fireworks, bike helmets and all-terrain vehicles. Violations involved standards for flammability, lead paint and lead content, phthalates and small parts.

Increased surveillance

Port surveillance is not new. Imported products have long been screened at the port by CPSC and CBP. However, since its creation in 2008, CPSC's import surveillance and inspection team, has steadily increased the size of its staff at some of the largest U.S. ports of entry, at CPSC's headquarters and at a CBP operations center.

"The marketplace of imported consumer goods has expanded rapidly in recent years requiring CPSC to take an increasingly global view of consumer product safety," said Carol Cave, Director of the Office of Import Surveillance and Inspection.

"In response to the lead in paint recalls in 2007, CPSC started to place investigators at key ports of entry full time," Cave said. "Having CPSC staff who have the training and equipment necessary to identify non-complying products under CPSC jurisdiction at the ports has improved coordination and cooperation with CBP and industry."

The results of efforts at the ports will be published regularly in 2012, CPSC said.

"We want the American public to know that CPSC stands for safety and we are doing all we can to identify and stop unsafe products from being introduced to our marketplace, so that consumers will have fewer things to worry about," Tenenbaum said.