Interim enforcement policy also announced by the agency

February 12, 2009 - WASHINGTON, D.C. - Starting on February 10, 2009, certain children's toys and child care articles can no longer be sold, offered for sale, manufactured or imported for sale in the United States if they contain more than 0.1% of specified phthalates. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled last week that this prohibition applies regardless of when the covered products were made.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff has previously addressed a number of questions concerning applicability of phthalate limits. CPSC today is issuing more guidance in draft form (pdf) for public comment. The guidance is intended to help manufacturers, importers, retailers and consumers determine what products are covered by the phthalate limits.

Until the draft guidance is finalized, CPSC intends, given its limited resources, to focus its enforcement efforts on the products most likely to pose a risk of phthalate exposure to children. Specifically, CPSC will focus its enforcement efforts on bath toys and other small, plastic toys (especially those made of polyvinyl chloride) that are intended for young children and can be put in the mouth.

In addition, CPSC staff will sample teethers, rattles and pacifiers to confirm that manufacturers continue their practice of not using prohibited phthalates.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visit CPSC's web site at www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. To join a CPSC email subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov.