CPSC OGC Advisory Opinion No. 17

..,..

'

·:-,.•

AUG 6 1973

Mrs.

Bernice

Abbott

8625 Green

Braes

N. or.

Indianapolis,

Indiana

46234

Dear

Mrs.

Abbott:

This

is

in reply

to your

letter

of July

16,

1973,

regarding

application

of Federal

regulations

to stuffed

toys

that

may be made by your

students.

Our responses

to your

questions,

in

the

same order

that

they

appear

in your

letter,

are

as follows:

A.

Toys

and other

articles

intended

for

use by children

arc

subject

to

the

provisions

of the

Federal

Hazarcous

Substu.nccs

Act

as

ar.1·.::nclcd by

b'1e Child

Protection

a:i.d Toy

Safety

Act

of 1969.

1:;ncloscd

plsasc

find

a copy

of t.11e

Act

end c~rt~in

propoacd

and final

regulations

issued

thereunder.

Based

UJ?On the

inform.:J.tion

providGd

in your

lctt~r

it

ap~cars

that

the

"Prohibited

Acts"

section

of

the

law

(Section

4-TAB A) would

not

have

application

to your

particular

activitiBs.

B.

'i'hc method

for

determining

f lar:-ir.,able

solids

(including

stuffed

toys)

is

found

in section

191.14

(TA3 il)

of

the

enclosed

regulations;

the

<.fofinition

of flar:c:i.:ible

solids

is

contained

in Section

191.l(k)

(2).

{TAB C)

c. DcitJ1 the

covering

and

stuffing

mntcrials

of toys

arG subject

to

the

re,;ulations

r.,cntion~d

in

(B) .

Our

concern

for

stuffing

raatcrial,

however,

is

liLlitcd

to

I

.

those

cases

,·:here

the

nu.tc:cial

can

bccom3

accessible

I

during

non.1al

use

or n~a.sonably

forcsccab

le

abuse

of a toy • .

The enclosed

copy

of proposed

test

nethods

for

toys

(TAB D)· indicates

procedures

for

simulating

us~

and abuse

.

I

.

/4

conditions.

I

V

!

D.

J\.11 yard

gooc"!s in

inter.state

con.r:.crce

are

expected

to b~ in cor,~>liancc

with

any applicable

federal

regulations.

c~nc·~

c, ...

~ ...."'1 ~-.."'--·~

--,~,.,

1,,- . .a..

•_,;,

•• 1 ....... -

,-.:--

'-~·

.. ---i"1

fn.,... cr ..... -.~"'·~d

~"':o·.-:-2v2r,

.:, ..L

-

u ..... ; ..!.. .... (..I, • ~ .._

es

for

simulating

us~

and abuse

.

I

.

/4

conditions.

I

V

!

D.

J\.11 yard

gooc"!s in

inter.state

con.r:.crce

are

expected

to b~ in cor,~>liancc

with

any applicable

federal

regulations.

c~nc·~

c, ...

~ ...."'1 ~-.."'--·~

--,~,.,

1,,- . .a..

•_,;,

•• 1 ....... -

,-.:--

'-~·

.. ---i"1

fn.,... cr ..... -.~"'·~d

~"':o·.-:-2v2r,

.:, ..L

-

u ..... ; ..!.. .... (..I, • ~ .._. -

~ -~ ......

• -

!rt,,.

.....

--

'.

,. ... .,,;,, .,

_;

-

'-

.._,. ....

\._;.

-

-

_,

-

•• ' -

• I,.. -

,

••

you n~y wish

to make appropriate

inquiry

of t.~e retailer.

(

..

E.

Enclosed

is

a copy of Commercial

Standard

191.53.

F.

There

is

no requirement

that

a fabric

treated

with

a flame

retardant

be labeled

to indicate

that

fact.

G.

Since

personal

civil

liability

cases

are

governed

by local

lnw,

you may wish

to co~tact

a private

attorney

to gain_ information

with

regard

to this

question.

The

Corr,rnission

has

no specific

authority

to participate

in,

or offer

counsel

with

regard

to,

such

matters.

H..

Since

the

para.meters

of the

f larn:mabili

ty standards

under

the

Flammable

Fabrics

Act vary

with

respect

to the

type

of rnatArial,

it

would

be difficult

to offer

a conclusive

determination

as to the

compara.tive

stringency

of requirements

under

that

l~ct

and those

under

the

Federal

~-Iazardous

Substances

hct.

I.

In:Zor::1ation

on t1,c

,i)?.J.r.atus

is

fou:-id

in· Section

191.13

(TAB E) of the

enclosed

regulations.

,·~c trust

that

the

ccbovc infornation

is

helpful.

If

we

can be of further

assistance,

please

let

us know.

Sinc,3:cely,

I-~ichael

A.

Dro,·m

Acting

General

Counsel

TDzenitis:jh

8-3-73

gc file

gc chron