Dozens of infant deaths have been tied to a popular baby product but regulators are too paralyzed to act
November 23, 2019, Washington Post
A paralyzing conflict inside the nation’s product safety regulator has prevented the agency from taking action against a popular baby product that studies have linked to at least 48 infant deaths over 27 years and that public health officials say should be banned, according to a Washington Post investigation. The cause of the breakdown is a small team inside the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission that does not believe the product — padded crib bumpers — played a role in most, if any, of the infants’ deaths, derailing the agency’s attempts to regulate or ban crib bumpers.
Lime Scooters lose contract to operate on Auckland’s streets
November 29, 2019, RNZ.com
Lime and Wave e-scooters will be gone from the streets of Auckland, after the regulator decided not to renew the company’s contract. Auckland Transport and the city council announced today other e-scooter companies had been granted renewals or new licences – Beam, Neuron and Jump – alongside the existing operator Flamingo.Lime and Wave will be required to have their scooters deactivated by midnight on Monday and physically off the streets by next Friday.The Council said safety was paramount, and the other four operators had better safety profiles, including self-braking when going down hills.
TJ Maxx, Marshalls sold recalled products, including items linked to infant fatalities
November 27, 2019, ABC News
Nineteen products that were sold to hundreds of consumers at various T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods stores have been recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The new warning to consumers was issued Tuesday after it was discovered that the stores, which are owned by TJX Companies, sold the 19 different products that had previously been recalled between 2014 and 2019, according to the CPSC.
The Toy Association issues statement in response to U.S. PIRG’s 2019 Trouble-in-Toyland Release
November 22, 2019, The Toy Association
U.S. PIRG uses the headline “Trouble in Toyland” for its annual report to needlessly frighten parents with baseless claims. What PIRG doesn’t tell you (because it would not grab headlines) is that toys continue to be one of the safest consumer product categories found in the home. `U.S. toy safety requirements include more than 100 standards and tests to ensure that toys are safe. These standards go above and beyond those for other consumer products. There are strict limits for lead and other chemicals in toys, internationally-emulated limits on sound level output, a highly effective small parts regulation that was developed with the help of pediatricians, and strict standards prohibiting the use of magnets in any toy part that is small enough to be swallowed.
Getting kids off the vape: Blumenthal says Trump is ‘succumbing to industry pressure’
November 23, 2019, wnpr.org
Forty-seven people have died in recent months from vaping-related illnesses, and there’s rising concern around the country about addiction levels among young people. President Donald Trump met with executives from the tobacco industry, along with public health leaders, to talk about vaping. But one federal lawmaker from Connecticut doesn’t expect anything to come of it.
Democratic senators send letter urging updates to toy gun regulations
November 21, 2019, Newsweek
A trio of Democratic senators sent a letter Thursday to the acting chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urging the agency to update rules governing the appearance of toy guns and nonlethal firearms, which can be mistaken by law enforcement for deadly weapons. “It is past time for the Department to revise its toy and imitation gun regulations and for the CPSC to strengthen non-powder gun regulations,” the letter says. “It is imperative that the CPSC find a path forward on updating” the standard for non-powder guns.
Study finds increasing rate of eye injuries from non-powder firearms among children
November 25, 2019, News-Medical.net
A new study conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital investigated nonpowder firearm injuries treated in U.S. emergency departments (EDs) among children younger than 18 years from 1990 through 2016. The study, published today in Pediatrics, found an estimated 364,133 children were treated in U.S. EDs for injuries related to non-powder firearms during the study period, going from 16,456 injuries in 1990 to 8,585 injuries in 2016.
Intertek launches cybersecurity certification program for consumer-connected products
November 27, 2019, Electronic Products
Cybersecurity has become critical to protecting connected devices, from home appliances to wearables, from malicious attacks that compromise a consumer’s personal data. As more smart devices are connected vulnerabilities are identified in new products. To manage these risks, Intertek has launched a product testing and certification program that enables manufacturers and brands to assess their connected consumer products’ cybersecurity.
Kaiser Health News
November 25, 2019 KHN.org
A round-up of news from major news organizations/USA Today: Vape juice can kill kids. A vaping law’s slow rollout left them at risk of nicotine poisoning…
Federal regulators this year stepped up efforts to protect young children from a deadly vaping threat: accidents involving liquid nicotine in bottles with enticing candy colors and flavors. In February, the Consumer Product Safety Commission sent out notices about a safety requirement that it had previously ignored. In addition to child-resistant caps, vape juice containers must dramatically limit how much can spill out of an open bottle. A vial can contain enough poison to kill four toddlers. But nine months later – and nearly four years after a federal law called for flow restrictors – dangerous and illegal bottles remain on shelves across the country, a USA TODAY investigation has found.
YouTube urged to restrict ads in videos for kids
November 22, 2019, mediapost.com
YouTube is facing new pressure to restrict ads that surround videos aimed at children who use the platform. Senator Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts) on Friday urged the company to prohibit child-oriented videos that include product placement, as well as “unboxing” videos — which often feature young influencers opening toys — on YouTube. “Kids watching videos that are directed to children on YouTube should benefit from the same protections against damaging and unsuitable advertising that children watching YouTube kids enjoy,” Markey (D-Massachusetts) writes in a letter sent to Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
Research grant funding available on managing PFAS
November 28, 2019, CBS News
Millions in funding is available to expand research on managing a broad group of substances that can have major impacts on the environment, especially in rural areas. They are called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and such PFAS are described as durable chemicals and materials that include oil, water, temperature and fire resistance properties, which make them last a long time in the environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is working to help rural and agricultural communities address the issues caused by these substances and devise actions people can take to address them.
