HSC 170- Consumer Product Safety

Who must certify?

"Every manufacturer" of a product that is subject to a consumer product safety rule or similar rule, ban, standard or regulation and which is "imported for consumption or warehousing" or "distributed in commerce"

Toy-related emergency room treated injury estimates - 2006

165,100 children under the age of 15 were treated in U.S. hospital ERs for toy-related injuries Top 5 Hazards: Magnets Recalled Items Tip Over (TV's and items on carts) Window Coverings Pool/Spa Drains

National Transportation Safety Board Main Responsibility

Airline safety

Consumer Product

Any article or component of an article which is customarily produced r distributed for sale to or for the personal use, consumption, or enjoyment of consumers in a residential, school, recreational, or other environment. It does not include a product intended for commercial or industrial use, unless it is sold to or used by consumers more than occasionally.

Federal Trade Commission Main Responsibilities

Competitive pricing Decpetive trade practices Packaging and labeling Consumer credit disclosure and reporting Online privacy

Lawsuits

Complaint Discovery Trial Expert Witness

Reasons for Consumer Movement

Complex products have enormously complicated the choices consumers need to make when they go shopping services, as well as products, have become more specialized and difficult to judge when business tries to sell both products and services through advertising, claims may be inflated or they may appeal to emotions having little to fo with how the product is expected to perform. Product safety has often been ignored.

Negligence

Conduct that a manufacturer did or failed to do that led to the failure. Quality assurance Fabrication methods Storage Design Standards of professional practice "Reasonable Person"

Jurisdictional Authority Many Acts

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA)- Lighters Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA) Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA)- Sleepwear/mattresses Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA)- dietary supplements, packaging. Refrigerator Safety Act (RSA) Virginia Graham Baker Pool and Spa Act

Department of Justice Main Responsibilities

Fair competition Consumer civil rights

Major federal consumer protection agencies and their main responsibilities

Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration, Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Department of Justice, National Transportation Safety Board.

Certification

Generally means vouching that a product complies with a certain requirement, such as government standard sometimes calls a "suppliers declaration of conformity" May or may not involve any test laboratory. May or may not involve a label on the product.

Certificates Must

Identify the product, manufacturer (importer) or private labeler issuing the certificate, and any third party on whose testing the certificate dpends, by name, address, and phone number. Must spell out the date and place where the product was manufactured and date and place of testing. Must show contact information for person maintaining test records. Must specify each applicable standard, ban, etc.

Warranty

Implied or explicit claims by manufacturer or seller 1960 court cases normal people can't tell is a product is :safe" or has been manufactured properly manufactures and sellers have to assume responsibility.

Crib Safety

In 1973, as many as 200 infants died annually in the U.S. from suffocation or strangulation when they become trapped between broken crib parts or in cribs with older, unsafe designs. CPSC published standards for safe cribs, including requirements that addressed: Side height, slat spacing, mattress fit, and other factors. In 1982, standards were amended to also prohibit hazardous cutouts in crib end panels. As a result of these and voluntary standards, deaths from baby cribs have been reduced to about 50 annually and occur primarily in older, previously used cribs. CPSC estimates that without safety standards, deaths associated with baby cribs would have increased to as many as 240 deaths annually.

Caveat emptor

Let the buyer beware. Manufacturers were not subject to suits die to defective products, "Privacy of Contract". Ended in the U.S. in 1916 with MacPherson vs. Buick.

Strict Liability

Manufactures responsible for injuries resulting from use of their products, whether or not they were negligent or breached a warranty. Defective Defective when it left the defendant Directly related to injury

Exceptions

Misuse Failure to follow instructions State of limitations (reasonable time and conditions for product use)

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Main Responsibilities

Motor vehicle safety standards Automobile fuel economy standards National unifrom speed limit Consumer safeguards for altered odometers

Availability of Certificates

Must "accompany" each product or shipment of products covered by the same certificate. A copy of the certificate must be "furnished to each distributor or retailer of the product" (no requirement to provide to ultimate consumer)- not necessarily a paper copy. A copy of the certificate must be made available to the Commission and Customs upon request.

The Refrigerator Safety Act of 1956 (RSA)

Oldest and perhaps the most successful act Dealt with deaths from children climbing into abandoned refrigerators and suffocating when the doors closed The Act requires that refrigerator doors be easily opened from within. Since the Act went into effect, most manufacturers have complied and childhood fatalities from this hazard have virtually disappeared.

Consumer Protection

Pressures to promote consumer interests How government protects consumers Consumer privacy in the internet age Product liability: a special problem Positive business responses to consumerism Consumerism's achievements

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Protects the public from unresonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. 30% decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products in the last 30 years.The department responsible for consumer safety. Involving regulations, public information, compliance, research, and import safety. Protects the public from unresonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. 30% decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products in the last 30 years.

Consumer Product Safety Commission Main Responsibilities

Safety standards for consumer products Flammable fabrics, hazardous substances, poison prevention packaging.

Food and Drug Administration Main Responsibilities

Safety, effectiveness, and labeling of drugs, foods, food additives, cosmetics, and medical devices Standards for radiation exposure Toxic chemicals research

Children's Sleepwear

The CPSC sets national safety standards for children's sleepwear flammability. Designed to protect children from burn injuries if they come in contact with an open flame, such as a match or stove burner. Garments sold as children's sleepwear for sizes larger than nine months must be either flame-resistant or snug-fitting. Flame-resistant garments do not continue burning when removed from an ignition source. Examples include inherently flame-resistant polyesters that do not require chemical treatment. Snug-fitting garments need not be flame resistant because they are made to fit closely against a child's body. Snug-fitting sleepwear does not ignite easily and, even if ignited, does not burn readily because there is little oxygen to feed a fire.

Certification at the Ports

There is currently no requirement to file a certificate with CBP or any government agency as part of the entry process or otherwise

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008

Third-partytesting of children's products by certified laboratories for certification ppurposes Certificate of conformance required for all consumer products ASTM F963-07 for toy safety, now mandatory Ban on children;s products containing more thann a minimal amount of lead

Goals for Consumer Laws

To provide consumers with better information when making purchases to protect consumers against possible hazards from products they may purchase to promote competitive pricing and consumer choice To protect privacy.

CPSC Does NOT Have Authority Over

Tobacco products Medical Devices Food and Drugs Boats or Motor Vehicles or Aircraft Firearms Pesticides Workplace products Alcohol

3 Theories of Liability

Warranty Negligence Strict Liability

Business Responses to Consumerism

quality management, volutary industry codes of conduct, consumer affairs departments, and product recalls.