The Consumer Product Safety Commission (‘‘Commission,’’ or ‘‘CPSC’’) just issue a final rule determining that unfinished and untreated trunk wood does not contain heavy elements that would exceed the limits specified in the Commission’s toy standard, ASTM F963–11. Based on this determination, unfinished and untreated trunk wood in toys does not require third party testing for the heavy element limits in ASTM F963.

The unfinished and untreated wood means wood harvested from the trunks of trees with no added surface coatings (such as, varnish, paint, shellac, or polyurethane) and no materials added to the wood substrate (such as, stains, dyes, preservatives, antifungals, or insecticides). Unfinished and untreated wood does not include manufactured or engineered woods (such as pressed wood, plywood, particle board, or fiberboard).

The effective date is January 19, 2016

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