1.Ban on children's products
that contain lead
(a)Congress finds the following:
(1)Young children
are exposed to lead in consumer products by swallowing or directly mouthing
objects containing lead or from handling such objects and subsequently putting
their hands in their mouths.
(2)The adverse
health effects of lead poisoning in children are well-documented and may have
long-lasting or permanent consequences, including neurological damage, delayed
mental and physical development, attention and learning deficiencies, hearing
problems, and in extreme and rare cases, death.
(3)Children are
particularly susceptible to the effects of lead poisoning, and, because lead
accumulates in the body, even exposures to small amounts of lead contribute to
the overall level of lead in the blood and to the risk of adverse health
effects.
(4)Eliminating or
reducing the exposure of children to lead will prevent or limit the harmful
effects of lead on children.
(5)In January of
1998, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which has jurisdiction over
consumer products, issued a guidance for lead in consumer products, urging
manufacturers to eliminate lead in consumer products.
(6)Since January of
1998, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled over 50 different
children's products that contain lead.
(b)Ban on
children's products that contain lead
(1)Beginning on the date that is 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, any children's product that contains lead shall be
treated as a banned hazardous substance under the Federal Hazardous Substances
Act (15 U.S.C. 1261 et seq.) and the prohibitions contained in section 4 of
such Act shall apply without regard to whether the lead contained in such
children's product is accessible to children.
(2)In
this section:
(A)Children's
product definedThe term children's product means
any consumer product marketed for use by children under the age of 7, or any
product the substantial use of which by children under the age of 7 is
foreseeable.
(B)Children's
product that contains leadThe term children's product that
contains lead means—
(i)in
the case of a children's product that is jewelry, a product any part of which
contains lead or lead compounds and the lead content of such part (calculated
as lead metal) is greater than 0.02 percent by weight of the total weight of
such part; and
(ii)in
the case of a children's product that is not jewelry, a product any part of
which contains lead or lead compounds and the lead content of such part
(calculated as lead metal) is greater than 0.04 percent by weight of the total
weight of such part.
(3)
(A)Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall determine whether
thresholds lower than those described in clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph
(2)(B) should be prescribed for children's products. If the Commission makes
such a determination, the Commission shall prescribe regulations establishing
lower thresholds in lieu of the thresholds established in such clauses.
(B)If, after a determination has been made in accordance
with subparagraph (A), the Consumer Product Safety Commission makes a
subsequent determination that thresholds lower than those described in clauses
(i) and (ii) of paragraph (2)(B) or prescribed in accordance with subparagraph
(A) should be prescribed for children's products, the Commission may prescribe
regulations establishing lower thresholds in lieu of the thresholds established
in such clauses or in accordance with such subparagrpah.
(c)Subsection
(b) shall not be construed to alter or amend the provisions of part 1303 of
title 16, Code of Federal Regulations (relating to the ban of lead-containing
paint and certain consumer products bearing lead-containing paint) or any
successor regulation.