What lies ahead

Standards for lead are expected to tighten further in August 2011, when limits for total lead in children's products drop to 100 ppm, if the CPSC determines it is technologically feasible to meet that more stringent standard. However, making products safer depends not only on imposing tough limits and testing requirements for contaminants such as heavy metals but also on oversight. The CPSC is still sorting out enforcement issues for certain aspects of the legislation, although it does respond to complaints.

The agency requires manufacturers or importers of children's products to submit samples of a product to an accredited third-party testing facility to ensure the item is within federal limits. And it tests children's products seized at ports, warehouses, and retail stores to ensure compliance with federal standards. If the items do not comply, it will investigate the manufacturer, the testing facility, and others in the supply chain.

Whether the agency has the proper staffing for such responsibilities remains to be seen. The CPSC currently has fewer than 20 staff members working directly with Customs and Border Protection inspectors and officials at the top 10 U.S. ports and in Washington.

Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, urges the CPSC to develop a regulation for cadmium limits for all children's products and believes that manufacturers, distributors, and retailers should thoroughly test for all heavy-metal concentrations before bringing products to market. The limits on lead are well defined for children's products, but lead and cadmium also should be regulated in products that can result in exposure via direct ingestion, such as cell-phone charms or garden hoses from which consumers might drink.