Ban On Toys With Phthalates Is Retroactive

A legal opinion on the law banning phthalates in toys from the general counsel of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is wrong, according the law's principal author, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).

At the request of a law firm seeking clarification of the ruling for its commercial clients, CPSC General Counsel Cheryl A. Falvey wrote that the phthalate ban in the recently passed Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act does not apply retroactively. This interpretation would mean that retailers would not have to remove existing toys and children's products containing phthalates from their shelves by the Feb. 10, 2009, deadline in the law. The ban only applies to products manufactured after the effective date, Falvey indicated.

In response, Boxer said that Falvey's opinion violates the clear language of the act. "This opinion is harmful to our children and a blatant disregard for the law," Boxer stated. In a Nov. 21 letter to Falvey, Boxer said it is clearly the intent of Congress to ban the sale of any children's toy or child care article containing certain phthalates by the February date and that "any other interpretation has no basis in fact." She demanded that Falvey immediately withdraw the opinion.