The Consumer Product Safety  Act (CPSA) consolidated federal safety regulatory activity relating to  consumer products within CPSC. As a result, in addition to its  responsibilities for protecting against product hazards in general, CPSC  administers the following laws that authorize various performance  standards for specific consumer products:  the Flammable Fabrics Act, which among other things, authorizes  CPSC to prescribe flammability standards for clothing, upholstery, and  other fabrics;the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, which establishes the  framework for the regulation of substances that are toxic, corrosive,  combustible, or otherwise hazardous;the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970, which authorizes  CPSC to prescribe special packaging requirements to protect children  from injury resulting from handling, using, or ingesting certain drugs  and other household substances; the Refrigerator Safety Act of 1956, which mandates CPSC to  prescribe safety standards for household refrigerators to ensure that  the doors can be opened easily from the inside;  the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act of 2007, which  establishes mandatory safety standards for swimming pool and spa  drain covers, as well as a grant program to provide states with  incentives to adopt pool and spa safety standards; and the Children’s Gasoline Burn Prevention Act of 2008, which  establishes safety standards for child-resistant closures on all portable  gasoline containers.the Child Safety Protection Act of 1994, which requires the banning or  labeling of toys that pose a choking risk to small children and the  reporting of certain choking incidents to the CPSC. New hazards can be  associated with either a new or existing product. Finally, CPSC has another effort under way to improve its surveillance of  imported products, which could prevent violative products from entering  the U.S. markets. CPSC Uses Various Means to Stay Informed about New Product Risks

CPSC uses multiple mechanisms to stay informed about new and  emerging risks from consumer products, especially new products entering  the market. These visits may be  announced or unannounced. In contrast to this difficulty in completing agreements with  foreign counterparts, CPSC has on occasion been able to share  information it has gathered with U.S. state and local agencies. This  inability to establish information-sharing agreements may hinder CPSC’s  ability to respond to a potential hazard in a timely manner because of the  delay that might occur between when a foreign counterpart decides to  take action in response to a product hazard and when that action  becomes public. CPSC Faces Challenges in Identifying Risks Associated with New Products, but Is Taking Steps to Improve Data Systems

CPSC uses information from a number of sources to identify specific risks  associated with both new and existing products. To address these challenges, CPSC is currently  implementing upgrades to CPSRMS, its data management system, as  required by CPSIA. 1). According to CPSC, the upgraded system is designed to  enhance CPSC’s efficiency and effectiveness, enable a more rapid  dissemination of information, and allow consumers to search the  database through a publicly available portal. CPSC officials expect the  system upgrades to be completed in fiscal year 2013 and fully operational  in fiscal year 2014. CPSC Is Taking Actions to Improve Its Ability to Identify Unsafe Imported Products before They Enter the Marketplace

As we have previously reported, CPSC has had limited ability to identify  unsafe products at the ports. 2. In response to  CPSIA, CPSC has developed and is pilot testing an approach for  identifying and targeting unsafe consumer products at U.S. ports. CPSC’s initial activities are focused on import compliance, such as  screening children’s imported products for lead content. Timeliness of CPSC’s Actions to Assess and Address New Risks Depends on the Specific Product or Hazard

CPSC assesses product risks on a case-by-case basis using information  it collects from various sources. 2). However, because testing methods are still being developed,  conducting its risk assessment of such products will take longer. CPSC Uses Various Approaches to Address Product Hazards, but Faces Challenges in Addressing New Product Risks

To address product-related hazards, CPSC uses various approaches  designed to reduce injuries and deaths. Public Education—notifying the public of safety hazards and  educating them about safe practices. An incident may include more than one death or injury. Moreover, CPSC may not have prior experience with the potential hazard  from a new consumer product and may need to take a number of actions  to address a specific hazard, which can take years. Matter for Congressional Consideration

To better enable CPSC to target unsafe consumer products, Congress  may wish to amend section 29(f) of CPSA to allow CPSC greater ability to  enter into information-sharing agreements with its foreign counterparts  that permit reciprocal terms on disclosure of nonpublic information. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

The Consolidated Appropriations Act requires GAO to analyze the  potential safety risks associated with new and emerging consumer  products, including chemicals and other materials used in their  manufacture, taking into account the Consumer Product Safety  Commission’s (CPSC) ability and authority to identify, assess, and  address the risks of new and emerging consumer products in a timely  manner and to keep abreast of the effects of these products on public  health and safety. Our objectives were to evaluate the authority and  ability of CPSC to (1) stay generally informed about new risks associated  with consumer products and use available information to identify product  hazards, and (2) assess and address new risks posed by consumer  products in a timely manner. In addition, we  reviewed data on CPSC corrective actions. We also  interviewed national consumer and industry organizations and legal  professionals and toured CPSC’s National Product Testing and  Evaluation Center.
Why GAO Did This Study

Growing numbers of consumer product recalls in 2007 and 2008, particularly of imported toys and children's products, focused increased attention on CPSC. In the 2012 Consolidated Appropriations Act, Congress directed GAO to analyze the potential safety risks associated with new and emerging consumer products. CPSC's approach focuses on new hazards, which could be risks associated with both new and existing products. Therefore, this report evaluates the authority and ability of CPSC to (1) stay generally informed about new risks associated with consumer products and use available information to identify product hazards, and (2) assess and address new risks posed by consumer products in a timely manner.
GAO reviewed CPSC's statutory and regulatory authorities to respond to product hazards; reviewed agency documents on risk assessment; reviewed CPSC corrective actions; and met with agency officials and representatives from national consumer, industry, and legal organizations with expertise in consumer product safety and risk assessment. GAO observed CPSC's testing facility and demonstrations of its information system upgrades.

What GAO Found

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has broad authority to identify, assess, and address product risks, but faces some challenges in identifying and responding to new risks in a timely manner. CPSC uses various means to stay informed about risks that may be associated with new or existing products. These methods include (1) market surveillance activities for imported products, retail stores, and Internet sales; and (2) formal agreements and various activities with other agencies. However, certain legal restrictions may hamper CPSC's ability to stay informed about new product hazards to public health and safety. Specifically, because of certain restrictions in the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), CPSC cannot agree to allow foreign agencies to disclose nonpublic information they receive from CPSC. While the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) allows CPSC greater freedom to disclose information to U.S. courts, Congress, and state and local agencies, CPSC has been unable to complete information-sharing agreements with foreign counterparts as envisioned because it cannot offer its counterparts reciprocal terms on disclosure of nonpublic information. Due to the growing number of imported consumer products, this restriction on sharing information may hinder CPSC's ability to identify risks from new products in a timely manner, possibly leading to injury and death if unsafe products enter the U.S. market. CPSC also faces challenges in collecting and analyzing large quantities of data in order to identify potential product risks. Some sources CPSC uses to identify injuries or death are dated--for example, death certificates can be 2 or more years old--or contain limited information about the product involved in the incident. To respond to these challenges, the agency has key efforts under way. First, CPSC is upgrading its data management system. According to CPSC, the upgrades are designed to enhance CPSC's efficiency and effectiveness, enable a more rapid dissemination of information, and allow consumers to search the database through a publicly available Internet portal. CPSC officials expect the upgrades to be completed in fiscal year 2013 and fully operational in fiscal year 2014. Second, in response to a CPSIA requirement, CPSC is working with Customs and Border Protection to test a new approach for identifying unsafe consumer products at the ports. CPSC port investigators have found this approach to be effective and have prevented hundreds of consumer products that were in violation of U.S. safety rules or found to be hazardous from entering commerce.
Timeliness of CPSC's actions to assess and address new risks depends on the specific product or hazard. For example, the simplest assessments may only take a few days, such as testing a product for lead content. More complex assessments can take years to complete, such as tracking potential chronic hazards from certain chemicals and nanotechnology (which involves the ability to control matter at the scale of one billionth of a meter) because no standard method for measuring toxicity associated with nanotechnology currently exists. CPSC uses various approaches to address product hazards, including conducting compliance activities, developing mandatory safety standards, and educating the public about safety hazards and safe practices. CPSC can take action to address a product hazard more quickly if it is addressing a known hazard. However, addressing a new or emerging risk can take CPSC years because it may need to develop new standards or approaches.

What GAO Recommends

To better enable CPSC to target unsafe consumer products, Congress may wish to amend section 29(f) of CPSA to allow CPSC greater ability to enter into information-sharing agreements with its foreign counterparts that permit reciprocal terms on disclosure of nonpublic information. CPSC supported this matter.