Book burning on Feb. 10th 2009 due to CPSIA

Submitted by Bibliofuture on Fri, 01/09/2009 - 14:24
Topic
Book Stores

Try this first as it comes from the relevant agency: http://cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09086.html I'm getting into gear making inquiries. I just got off the phone from the Consumer Product Safety Commission's press office voicemail. I'm waiting for a call back. ________________________ Stephen Michael Kellat, Host, LISTen PGP KeyID: 899C131F

I have not been able to verify the information in this blog post but this information is moving around via email to librarians so I thought I would pass it on. Without specific cites to the law I would be very wary to take at face value some of the points made.

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The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA H.R. 4040) has a good goal: protect kids from dangerous imports tainted with lead. Bravo! Unfortunately it goes about doing so in such a way that it’ll drive up costs across the board, drive many manufacturers and retailers out of business, and not really make kids any safer.

So what does CPSIA do? It mandates lead testing for ALL items intended for children under 13 or PERCEIVED as being for those under age 13. So items commonly regarded as “kids stuff” even if it is intended for adults, such as many comics, collectible books, high end popups, etc, still falls under the statute even though they’re aimed at adult collectors.

Full blog post here.