U.S. – CPSC Approves 16 CFR 1252 to Exempt Certain Engineered Wood Products from CPSIA Chemical Testing Requirements

Vol. 1033 | 16 Jul 2018

On June 22, 2018, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) approved a final rule to exempt certain untreated and unfinished engineered wood products (EWP) from the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) section 101 total lead content, CPSIA section 108 phthalate content, and ASTM F963 soluble elements testing requirements.

16 CFR 1252, Children's products, children’s toys, and child care articles: determinations regarding lead, ASTM F963 elements and phthalates for engineered wood products, provides exemption from the following testing requirements for the specified engineered wood products when used in a children’s product, a children’s toy or a childcare article:

• Total lead content testing exemption – children’s product, children’s toy and childcare article components made from:
  • Untreated and unfinished particleboard made from virgin wood or pre-consumer wood waste,
  • Untreated and unfinished hardwood plywood made from virgin wood or pre-consumer wood waste, and
  • Untreated and unfinished medium-density fiberboard made from virgin wood or pre-consumer wood waste
• Phthalate content testing exemption – children’s product, children’s toy and childcare article components made from:
  • Untreated and unfinished particleboard made from virgin wood or pre-consumer wood waste,
  • Untreated and unfinished hardwood plywood made from virgin wood or pre-consumer wood waste and does not contain polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) adhesive formulations, and
  • Untreated and unfinished medium-density fiberboard made from virgin wood or pre-consumer wood waste
• ASTM F963 soluble element testing exemption – children’s product, children’s toy and childcare article components made from:
  • Untreated and unfinished particleboard made from virgin wood or pre-consumer wood waste,
  • Untreated and unfinished hardwood plywood made from virgin wood or pre-consumer wood waste, and
  • Untreated and unfinished medium-density fiberboard made from virgin wood or pre-consumer wood waste

The final rule uses the following definitions for untreated and unfinished:

Unfinished means an EWP that does not have any surface treatments applied at manufacture, such as factory applied coatings. Examples of such treatments may include paint or similar surface coating materials, wood glue, or metal fasteners, such as nails or screws.

Untreated means an EWP that does not have any additional finishes applied at manufacture. Examples of such finishes may include flame retardants or rot resistant finishes.

It should be noted that for accessible component parts of children’s products, children’s toys, and child care articles subject to sections 101, 106, and 108 of the CPSIA, compliance to the specified content limits is always required, irrespective of any testing exemptions.

The effective date of revised requirement is July 23, 2018, which is 30 days after publication in the federal register.

The final rule can be reviewed at: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-06-22/pdf/2018-13392.pdf

For questions, please contact Laxmi Ravikumar (laxmi.ravikumar@intertek.com, +1- 630-209-9265) Dr. Pratik Ichhaporia (pratik.ichhaporia@intertek.com, +1-847-212-8273).