Determinations for lead and the eight elements in ASTM F963 as a means for third party testing cost reduction: questions, issues, and comments. CPSC staff presentation followed by panelist presentations

1. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Workshop on Potential Ways To Reduce Third
Party Testing Costs Through Determinations
Consistent With Assuring Compliance
April 3, 2014
This presentation was prepared by CPSC staff, has not been reviewed or approved
by, and may not reflect the views of, the Commission.

2. US CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
Disclaimer
 This presentation was prepared by
CPSC staff, has not been reviewed or approved
by, and may not reflect the views of, the
Commission.
 The views and opinions expressed by public
participants during this workshop are those of the
participants and do not represent official
government policies or positions of the
Commission or its staff.
 This workshop is being webcast and recorded.
Please identify yourself when speaking.
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3. LEAD AND ASTM F963-11
ELEMENTS
Moderator: Patricia Adair
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4. Lead
 Commission determined materials that do not
exceed 100 ppm lead content, and are not subject
to third party testing
• 16 CFR 1500.91
 Procedures and requirements for lead content
determinations
• 16 CFR 1500.89
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5. Lead
 For manufactured materials, what specific
information and data should staff assess in
considering a recommendation that the material’s
production does not, and will not, result in a lead
content above 100 ppm?
 How lead in the recycling stream can be kept from
rendering a material noncompliant?
 How the potential for contamination is addressed
by all manufacturers of a material?
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6. Lead
 What specific information and data staff should
obtain to be assured that continued production of
a material, regardless of its origin, will continue to
be compliant with the lead content limit without
requiring third party testing?
 What other information the staff should consider
before potentially making recommendations to the
Commission regarding a determination for lead
content?
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7. Lead
 What changes would you recommend to improve
the procedures of 16 CFR 1500.89 in furtherance
of the Commission’s specific determinations
related direction to staff? What additional specific
information and data should staff assess in
considering a recommendation that a
determination be made that a material intrinsically
does not, and will not, contain lead above 100
ppm? Is this information obtainable?
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8. Lead
 What additional lead determinations would provide
the greatest cost savings, assuming that the
determinations have a satisfactory legal and
evidentiary basis and are adopted by the
Commission?
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9. ASTM F963-11 Elements
 A possible determination could identify materials
that do not, and will not, contain the eight
elements listed in the Toy Standard, either with
respect to chemical content or to solubility of the
elements at levels that do not exceed the
allowable limits.
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10. ASTM F963-11 Elements
 Which materials, by their nature, do not, and will
not contain any of the eight elements in content
above their solubility limits?
 Which materials have a solubility of all seven
elements other than lead that is low enough for a
determination to possibly be recommended that
the material will comply with ASTM F963–11,
regardless of the elements’ content levels (lead
content must not exceed 100 ppm for substrates,
and 90 ppm for surface coatings)?
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11. ASTM F963-11 Elements
 How can compliance with the solubility limits of the
elements other than lead be inferred from content
measurements, irrespective of the shape or other
physical characteristics of the material as a
component part of a toy?
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12. ASTM F963-11 Elements
 Which materials would present the greatest cost
reduction if the Commission determined that third
party testing is not required, especially considering
that compliance with the underlying standard(s)
would still be required?
 What other information staff should consider
before potentially making recommendations to the
Commission regarding a determination of
compliance with the limitations on the eight
elements listed in the Toy Standard?
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13. Panel Participants
 Nikki Brown, Penn State University
 Bill Perdue, American Home Furnishings Alliance
 Mark Fellin, Juvenile Products Manufacturers
Association
 Al Kaufman, Toy Industry Association
 Hailey Mann, American Plastic Toys
 Sanjeev Gandhi, SGS Consumer Testing Services
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30. Hailey Mann – Lead/ASTM Panel
30

31. • Thank you for the opportunity to participate on this panel.
• I would like to introduce American Plastic Toys, Inc. (APT)
We are a domestic toy manufacturer of injection molded
plastic toys. The company was founded in 1962 and has
operated continuously for over 50 years. Our corporate
headquarters is located in Walled Lake, Michigan.
• The following provides a brief description of company
operations and position in the toy industry.
American Plastic Toys Inc.
American Plastic Toys CPSC Lead/ASTM Panel 31

32. American Plastic Toys CPSC Lead/ASTM Panel 32
Operations:
APT currently has five buildings with over 1,000,000 square feet of
operational and storage space company wide. All of our products are
produced and all shipments originate from either Walled Lake,
Michigan or Olive Branch, Mississippi. We are vertically integrated,
taking in raw plastic resin and colorants, and molding and assembling
the finished toys. We have over 50 injection-molding machines of
various sizes and over 300 employees.
Product Line:
APT has the most comprehensive line of injection molded toys in the
United States. Currently we have approximately 125 items in our line
excluding special versions for specific customers. APT manufactures
spring and summer seasonal goods, bulk vehicles, ride-on, girls, role
playing and furniture toy categories.
American Plastic Toys Inc.

33. American Plastic Toys CPSC Lead/ASTM Panel 33
American Plastic Toys Inc.
• ASTM Related Topics
– Natural (i.e. unpigmented) polypropylene &
polyethylene resins will not contain any of the
eight elements at detectable levels.
– We have tested 20 Million pounds of raw resin
representing 105 different lots/batches of
material over the last 15 months.
– In every case, test results for the 8 ASTM
elements in these resins confirmed these
plastics are not just compliant, but the
element content is so low/non-existent as to
be undetectable

34. American Plastic Toys CPSC Lead/ASTM
Panel
34
American Plastic Toys Inc.

35. American Plastic Toys CPSC Lead/ASTM Panel 35
American Plastic Toys Inc.
• Technical Considerations
– Polyethylene and polypropylene are produced from
petroleum or natural gas, which do not contain
appreciable amounts of the regulated metals. These
gases are polymerized in a reactor in a closed process
which eliminates contamination opportunities.
– Resin producers are careful to control the presence of
trace metals, as these will interfere with the ability to
obtain desired properties in the finished plastic.

36. American Plastic Toys CPSC Lead/ASTM Panel 36
American Plastic Toys Inc.
Polypropylene & Polyethylene natural Raw resin
should be excluded by regulation based on the test
data submitted.
• We as a manufacturer know what goes into our products.
• Excluding PP & PE Resin will produce an annual savings of
$30,000 for APT; this is a significant percentage of our
overall testing expenditure.
• Resin manufacturing is a technical and controlled process.
Resin is tested and certified throughout the pellet
manufacturing process.
• We receive material certificates with each shipment

37. American Plastic Toys CPSC Lead/ASTM Panel 37
American Plastic Toys Inc.
• Manufacturing Safe, Quality and FUN products is our top
priority
• Having quality systems in place throughout our
manufacturing process for periodic testing and inspection
gives us assurance that our products are compliant.
• Eliminating the need to test materials that do not have
detectable levels of the eight elements is a great way to
reduce third party testing costs without compromising
safety or compliance.