Cadmium Regulations

Often times we hear from our customers that the pending and current legislation as it applies to children’s toys/children’s products/consumer goods can be quite a bit to keep track of. Not only are there the federal requirements set forth by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, but also the state legislation that needs to be satisfied. Therefore, as a Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) 3rd party accredited lab, we would like to bring light to a few of the existing areas requiring compliance either currently or in the near future.

Total cadmium requirements for specific states:
State Item Regulated Regulated Limit Effective Date
Minnesota
Children’s Jewelry
75 ppm soluble limit
Products manufactured after 1/1/11 and sold after 3/1/11
Illinois
Children’s Jewelry
75 ppm soluble limit
Products manufactured after 7/1/11
Connecticut
Children’s Jewelry
75 ppm soluble content
Products manufactured after 7/1/14
California
Children’s Jewelry
300 ppm total content
January 1, 2012
Maine’s Kid-Safe Products Act of 2008

The original act included a list of 1,700 chemicals, which toy companies would have to test for to ensure they are not present in their products. The list is currently being reviewed, and will be condensed to 70 chemicals of “high concern”. The two main factors in determining which chemicals make the list will be evidence of toxicity and exposure to children. The list is set to be finalized by July 1, 2012. It will also include threshold levels, exempt inaccessible product components, and allow regulators the flexibility to address redundancy. A link to this act is listed below: www.cleanandhealthyme.org

Total cadmium requirements for specific states:

The list is ever evolving, and is one to watch. The most recent compound(s) added to the list was posted on May 20, 2011. The list is now approaching almost 900 compounds that are regulated in the state of California. To review the full list please click on the following link: oehha.ca.gov/prop65/prop65_list/files/P65single052011.pdf

The act will be effective on June 20th, 2011, key requirements include the following:

The act will be effective on June 20th, 2011, key requirements include the following: laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-1.68/index.html

These are just a few pressing requirements that we wanted to bring to your attention. Please feel free to contact our lab for additional information regarding requirements and testing. Our laboratory is accredited by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), certificate number 1888.02.