BETHESDA, MD (BRAIN)—The Consumer Product Safety Commission has delayed the deadline for bicycle manufacturers to file reports detailing the lead content in their children’s products until Oct. 9.
The deadline was initially set for the end of August, but the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association lobbied the Commission for an extension due to uncertainty as to which components needed to be included in the report.
In a 5-0 vote, the Commission agreed last week to grant the request.
The report is required by manufacturers who want to take advantage of the two-year stay of enforcement for a strict new lead limit, as dictated by the Consumer Product Safety Information Act.
The law eventually limits the amount of lead in children’s products to 100 parts per million.
The stay specifies that each manufacturer covered by the stay must file a report with the Commission identifying each model of bicycle produced between May 1, 2008 and May 1, 2009, and each component on that bicycle that is accessible to children, the material used for each part and the lead content in parts per million. Suppliers must also explain what their plans are to change the lead content in those products and what the scientific basis is to use a material that includes lead for a particular component.
The Commission will use this information to gain a better understanding of the market, and how feasible it is for bike component suppliers to eliminate lead from the manufacturing process.
—Nicole Formosa
