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E-mail This PageCPSC Issues Final Rule on Lead Testing ExemptionsIt is now illegal for children’s products, including jewelry, to contain more than 300 ppm lead. The law that sets this limit, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), became effective on February 10, 2009, and applies to all products, even those already in inventory as of the effective date of the law. The allowable lead limit will be further reduced, to 100 ppm, in August 2011. The CPSIA also requires third-party testing on children’s products, and Certifications of Compliance that the lead content is within legal limits. In an important ruling for the industry, the Consumer Product Safety Commission recently determined that many materials used in children’s jewelry do not exceed the lead-content limits of the CPSIA. For that reason, those materials are exempt from the third-party testing requirements. The Commission issued this ruling, detailing the exemptions, on August 19, 2009. Many gems qualify for an exemption, provided that they have not been treated in a way that adds lead to the material or product. These gems include: o Precious gemstones: diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds; o Semiprecious gemstones and other minerals, provided they are not based on lead or lead compounds and are not associated in nature with lead or lead compounds; and o Natural or cultured pearls. Certain metals and alloys also qualify for an exemption, provided that no lead or lead-containing metal is intentionally added during the manufacturing process. These metals and alloys include: o Surgical steel and most stainless steel; and, o Precious metals: gold, sterling silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium, osmium, iridium, ruthenium and titanium. The exemptions specifically do not include the non-steel or non-precious metal components of a product, such as solder or base metals in electroplate, clad or fill applications. Thus, the testing requirements do apply to any jewelry components made with these non-exempt materials, unless the components are inaccessible to a child through normal and reasonably foreseeable use and abuse. Paint, coatings or electroplating over a component will not make it inaccessible for purposes of the CPSIA. Importantly, the Commission’s determination regarding the exemptions listed here does not relieve a jeweler from complying with the lead limits of the CPSIA if a material is changed in a way that introduces lead to the material. Manufacturers and importers remain responsible for verifying that the material has not been altered in any way that could impart lead into the material. Crystal and glass beads, including rhinestones and cubic zirconium are not excluded from the lead-content limits and must be tested. “Children’s products” include any consumer product that is designed for children 12 or younger. This is determined by the manufacturer’s statement of intent regarding the appropriate age for users as well as by labeling, marketing, and whether consumers recognize the product as designed for children. |
Jewelers Vigilance Committee
Does Not Provide Any Form Of Legal Advice.
Does Not Provide Any Form Of Legal Advice.