CPSIA Lead Testing

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), signed into law in 2008, was enacted to facilitate an increase in the safety of consumer products and resulted in the most significant changes to the operation of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), since the early 1970s. One of the major clauses (Section 101) requires mandatory lead testing for children’s products. Also, 16 CFR 1303 declares that paint and similar surface coatings of all consumer products, with certain exceptions, must not contain lead in an amount above 90 ppm.

Lead (element symbol Pb) is a heavy metal which has been used for centuries in a variety of products, materials, and applications, and it is still widely used today. Lead is a toxin, affecting most systems of the human body, and children are especially vulnerable to its neurotoxic effects. No safe level of exposure to lead has been established. Additionally, children can absorb lead more easily than adults, and can be more likely to come in contact with it, due to behavioral factors.

Lead has often been added to make paint more durable. Metal components, such as children’s jewelry items, can also be problematic, if they contain lead. Entry into the body can result from sucking on or swallowing lead-containing components. Lead is also often added to plastics as a stabilizing agent. Plastics can degrade due to environmental factors, such as UV rays from sunlight and exposure to acids and bases, such as those found in some cleaning agents. As a result, the materials can begin to leach lead or produce lead-containing dust, which may be easily introduced into the body, by means such as hand-to-mouth contact.

Even today, some materials used to make toys and other children’s products can have the potential to include some level of lead.

TTL Laboratories is a CPSC-accepted, ISO 17025 accredited lab with extensive experience in analyzing consumer products. We can perform lead certification testing, to assure your products comply with the requirements of CPSIA, which is essential to bring your products to the market.

CPSIA requirements for total lead content:
• Limit for paint and similar surface coatings: 90 ppm
• Limit for substrate materials (e.g. metals and plastics): 100 ppm

CPSC-approved test methods TTL Laboratories uses to detect lead:
• Paint/Surface Coatings – CPSC-CH-E1003-09
• Total Lead (Pb) in Children’s Metal Products (Including Children’s Metal Jewelry) – CPSC-CH-E1001-08.2
• Total Lead (Pb) in Non-Metal Children’s Products – CPSC-CH-E1002-08.2
• Soluble Heavy Metals – ASTM F963-17