TIA lab group readies component test plan
-- Kids Today, 7/14/2009 8:55:00 AM
NEW YORK—The Toy Industry Association says that its working group of testing laboratory representatives is readying recommendations for component testing of toys, as well as suggestions for component testing for lead substrates and materials, according to a report by Kids Today sister publication, Playthings.
The effort seeks to develop a component testing standard—a long-standing practice of testing laboratories—even though component testing for lead under the third-party requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) is currently not permitted by the CPSC.
A component testing standard would avoid expensive redundant testing of the same part when it is used in multiple products.
The group is also developing a standardized protocol for composite testing for lead substrates and materials. Future work will address heavy metals, flammability, projectiles, magnets, rattles, and other emerging priorities.
“The members of this working group have come together under the TIA umbrella to develop common testing methodologies that can be used consistently across the industry,” said Carter Keithley, TIA president. “Their efforts will be of great assistance in the determination of a product’s compliance with the CPSIA.”
Slated to become a standing subcommittee of TIA’s Safety Standards and Technical Committee, the Laboratory Testing Technical Working Group was organized under the auspices of the Toy Industry Association in February 2009 with a goal of developing standardized testing protocols to assist with implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). Its consensus recommendations on issues such as component parts and representative production sample testing will be submitted to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in an effort to resolve variations in testing methodologies that have become apparent since the Act was approved in summer 2008.
A previous recommendation from the task group on composite testing for lead paint was accepted by the CPSC and included in the Standard Operating Procedure for Determining Lead (Pb) in Paint and Other Similar Surface Coatings (CPSC-CH-E1003-09) that was published by the CPSC on April 26, 2009.
Members of the TIA Laboratory Testing Technical Working Group currently include representatives of consumer product testing laboratories Specialized Technology Resources, SGS Consumer Testing Services, EMC, Bureau Veritas, CMA Testing NSF International and Intertek (ITS).
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