On October 13, 2017, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) to exempt certain untreated and unfinished engineered wood products (EWP) from the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) section 101 total lead content, CPSIA section 108 phthalate content, and ASTM F963-16 soluble elements testing requirements. The effective date is proposed to be 30 days from the publication of the rule once finalized.

The Commission in the NPR has proposed to provide exemption from the following testing requirements for the specified engineered wood products when used in a children’s product, a children’s toy or a child care article:

? Total lead content testing exemption – children’s product, children’s toy or child care article component made from:

1. Untreated and unfinished particleboard made from virgin wood or pre-consumer wood waste,
2. Untreated and unfinished hardwood plywood made from virgin wood or pre-consumer wood waste, and 
3. Untreated and unfinished medium-density fiberboard made from virgin wood or pre-consumer wood waste

? Phthalate content testing exemption – children’s product, children’s toy or child care article component made from:

1. Untreated and unfinished particleboard made from virgin wood or pre-consumer wood waste,
2. Untreated and unfinished hardwood plywood made from virgin wood or pre-consumer wood waste and does not contain polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) adhesive formulations, and
3. Untreated and unfinished medium-density fiberboard made from virgin wood or pre-consumer wood waste

? ASTM F963 soluble element testing exemption – children’s product, children’s toy or child care article component made from:

1. Untreated and unfinished particleboard made from virgin wood or pre-consumer wood waste,
2. Untreated and unfinished hardwood plywood made from virgin wood or pre-consumer wood waste, and
3. Untreated and unfinished medium-density fiberboard made from virgin wood or pre-consumer wood waste

Untreated and unfinished are defined as follows:

Unfinished means an EWP that does not have any surface treatments applied at manufacture, such as factory applied coatings. Examples of such treatments may include paint or similar surface coating materials, wood glue, or metal fasteners, such as nails or screws.

Untreated means an EWP that does not have any additional finishes applied at manufacture. Examples of such finishes may include flame retardants or rot resistant finishes.

It should be noted that for accessible component parts of children’s products, children’s toys or child care articles subject to sections 101, 106, and 108 of the CPSIA, compliance to the specified content limits is always required, irrespective of any testing exemptions. 

Deadline for public comment on the proposed rule is December 27, 2017.

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