Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX) sent a letter today to the Chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Elliot Kaye questioning the process used in the decision to ban the use of di-isononyl phthalate (DINP) in children's toys and products.
Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX) sent a letter today to the Chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Elliot Kaye questioning the process used in the decision to ban the use of di-isononyl phthalate (DINP) in children’s toys and products.
The Commission has previously determined that DINP was safe, but changed course and banned the use of the phthalate after secret reviews.
Rep. Barton noted in his letter that CPSC didn’t follow the intents of the law (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008) or guidelines established by the Office of Management and Budget when the Chronic Hazard Advisory Panel conducted a review of DINP without releasing a draft report or allowing public comment.
He also questioned the use of dated scientific data as the basis of the ban and worried about the dangerous precedent it sets. In addition, Rep. Barton pointed out that CHAP’s decision circumvented the law by ignoring DINP’s negligible contribution to a cumulative risk framework.
In the letter he asked Chairman Kaye several questions, including:
• “I would like to know the CPSC’s position on its legal authority to regulate a chemical that contributes a very small percentage to a cumulative risk assessment.”
• “I am interested in learning why the Panel chose to use Centers for Disease Control (CDC) data that was nearly ten years old.”
A complete copy of the letter can be found here.
