BALTIMORE (BRAIN) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission combined to seize nearly 600 girls bikes that authorities said were coated in pink paint with excessive levels of lead.
CBP officers and CPSC investigators seized the Dripe-X branded bikes in Baltimore on Dec. 29 after test results reported that the bikes' pink paint had excessive levels of lead.
CBP officers and a CPSC investigator initially examined the shipment from China on Sept. 21. The CPSC investigator took samples for testing and requested that CBP officers detain the shipment.
According to a joint press release, after testing a CPSC investigator requested that CBP officers seize the shipment for violating the Federal Hazardous Substances Act. The bikes were to be shipped to an address in San Bernardino County, California, and valued at nearly $84,000.
"Customs and Border Protection and our consumer safety partners take very serious our mission of protecting our nation's citizens against potentially dangerous imports, particularly products that may be especially harmful to our most vulnerable – our children," said Keith Fleming, CBP's acting director of field operations in Baltimore.
Federal regulations limit lead content to 90 parts per million in all children's products and some furniture. Household paint must also meet this requirement. Additionally, all children's products must not contain more than 100 parts per million of total lead content in accessible parts.
Dripe-X appears to be a brand owned by Robustsport, a company that does business in the U.S. and the U.K.
