Chemicals in Consumer Goods & the Workplace

1. Chemicals in Consumer Goods & the Workplace

2. Consumer Products

3. Consumer Products • Goods intended for the market • Manufactured goods are goods that have been processed • Final goods are goods that are ultimately consumed rather than used in the production of another good • For example, a car sold to a consumer is a final good • The components such as tires sold to the car manufacturer are intermediate goods

4. Durable goods • do not wear out quickly and are useful over a period of time rather than being completely used up when used once • most goods are therefore durable goods to a certain degree • cars, appliances, business equipment, electronic equipment, home furnishings and fixtures, housewares, photographic equipment, recreational goods, sporting goods, toys and games • typically characterized by lengthy time between two successive purchases • higher costs • federal government report made at 8:30 am EST around the 26th of each month measures consumer spending on durable goods – expected to last more than three years – offers a gauge of the future of the manufacturing industry

5. Nondurable goods • opposite of durable goods • used up when used once or that have a lifespan of less than 3 years. • cosmetics, food, cleaning products, office supplies, packaging and containers, paper and paper products, personal products, rubber, plastics, textiles, clothing, footwear and most services

6. Contemporary Issues • Safety Issues – Product safety, liability & recalls, consumer safety, particular goods (drugs, food, cars, toys, aircraft, fireworks) • Environmental Issues – impact of manufacturing goods, impact of waste disposal of • Energy Issues • LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) • Carbon footprint (producing goods, transporting goods, disposing of waste)

7. Resources • Consumer.gov (USA.gov) • Scorecard (Green Media Toolshed) • Consumer Goods & Services (Business.gov) • Consumer Guides and Protection (USA.gov) • Consumer Action Website (Federal Citizen Information Center) • Consumer Goods Industries (Export.gov) • International Trade Administration • US Department of Commerce • Household Products Database (NIH)

8. Standard Industrial Classification

9. Public policy (law) the rules of behavior imposed on society by a government with society's approval • Can be deconstructed into • statutory law • administrative law • case law • Provides a context in which individuals and corporations decide how to behave • incentives - carrots • regulations - big sticks

10. The Various Paths of Current Law

11. 21 USC Food and Drugs • 42 USC Public Health and Welfare • 15 USC Commerce and Trade • 9 CFR Animal and Animal Products • 21 CFR Food and Drugs • 27 Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms • 15 CFR Commerce and Foreign Trade • 40 CFR Protection of the Environment

12. Consumer Product Safety Commission • Established as an independent agency in 1972 by the Consumer Product Safety Act • Congress directed the CPSC to protect the public "against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products" • Charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction • Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $700 billion annually • The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard or can injure children • The agency works to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals • The rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products has declined 30 percent in the past 30 years

13. CPSC. No jurisdiction over some categories of products • Motor vehicles, motor vehicle equipment, and car seat performance in protecting children when riding in on-road vehicles: NHTSA/DOT • Food, drugs, cosmetics, radiation, medical devices, and veterinary medicines: FDA(except for child resistant-packaging for these products) • Pesticides, insecticides rodenticides, fungicides: EPA • Boats and other watercraft (including personal watercraft): USCG • Firearms: ATF • Chemical Safety: CSB (U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board) • Deceptive or unfair trade practices: FTC • National Center for Standards and Certification Information (within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST)

14. Drinking Water (EPA) • Foods, Drugs and Cosmetics (FDA) • Meat and Poultry Hotline (USDA) • Medical Products Complaints (FDA) • Fireworks • Consumer Product Safety Commission has guidelines concerning the standard of consumer fireworks sold • With US Customs, proactive in enforcing these rules, intercepting imported fireworks that don't comply and issuing recalls on unacceptable consumer fireworks • The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is the federal agency that regulates explosives, including Display Fireworks

15. Consumer Product Safety Commission Regulations • Consumer Product Safety CommissionSemi Annual Regulatory Agenda • CPSC Bike Helmet Standards • A Bill “To direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to classify certain children's products containing lead to be banned hazardous substances” H.R. 668 February 8, 2005

16. Federal Trade Commission • President Woodrow Wilson signed the FTC Act into law on September 26, 1914 • Preceded by the Bureau of Corporations, created on February 14, 1903 • History of FTC • The Commission may "prosecute any inquiry necessary to its duties in any part of the United States" (15 U.S.C. Sec. 43) and may "gather and compile information concerning, and * * * investigate from time to time the organization, business, conduct, practices, and management of any person, partnership, or corporation engaged in or whose business affects commerce, excepting banks, savings and loan institutions * * * Federal credit unions * * * and common carriers * * *." (15 U.S.C. Sec. 46(a)) • Bureau of Consumer Protection • Consumer Information

17. Federal Trade Commission • Only federal agency with both consumer protection and competition jurisdiction in broad sectors of the economy • The FTC • pursues vigorous and effective law enforcement • advances consumers’ interests by sharing its expertise with federal and state legislatures and U.S. and international government agencies • develops policy and research tools through hearings, workshops, and conferences • creates practical and plain-language educational programs for consumers and businesses in a global marketplace with constantly changing technologies

18. Mercury and autism • Lead in toys • Formaldehyde in furniture • Chemicals in surface and groundwater • Indoor air – radon, moulds • Pesticide residues in food • Second hand tobacco smoke

19. Workplace Concerns

20. Workplace Concerns • Workplace Safety and Health (CDC) • National Institute for Occupational Health & Safety (HHS) • Workplace Safety in Minnesota (Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry) • Workplace Safety Compliance (National Safety Council) • Compliance Center

21. Occupational Safety and Health Administration • Established by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 • To assure the safety and health of America's workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health • Nearly every working man and woman in the nation comes under OSHA's jurisdiction • Miners, transportation workers, many public employees, and self-employed are exempt • Regulations

22. Miners • Mine Safety and Health Administration • Federal Mine Safety & Health Act of 1977 as amended • Coal US Office of Surface Mining • Uranium. Ore emits radon gas, uranium mining can be more dangerous than other underground mining, unless adequate ventilation systems are installed • During the 1950s, many Navajos became uranium miners, as many uranium deposits were discovered on Navajo reservations • A statistically significant subset of these early miners later developed small cell carcinoma after exposure to uranium ore and radon-222, a natural decay product of uranium • Some American survivors and their descendants received compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act in 1990

23. Taconite • Taconite Mining in Minnesota • Mesothelioma News Articles (Legal View) • Mesothelioma Information • Miles Lord calls for halt to Taconite projects (MPR)

24. Disasters and Emergencies • US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board • An independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accident • Authorized by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 • The National Response Center • Emergency Planning for Chemical Spills

25. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) • Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, PL 100-707, signed into law November 23, 1988; amended the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, PL 93-288. This Act constitutes the statutory authority for most Federal disaster response activities especially as they pertain to FEMA and FEMA programs • The primary mission of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is to reduce the loss of life and property and protect the Nation from all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, by leading and supporting the Nation in a risk-based, comprehensive emergency management system of preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation • Statutes and regulations • On March 1, 2003, FEMA became part of the Department of Homeland Security

26. Minnesota Information

27. State Government • Legislative Material • Executive Material • Governor’s Office • Executive Agencies • Judicial Material • Minnesota Legislative Reference Library • Minnesota State Law Library • House Publications • Senate Publications