U.S. regulators halt unsafe jewelry imports

U.S. regulators halt unsafe jewelry imports    Collaboration between the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Customs and Border Protection has stopped another shipment of unsafe imports from entering the U.S. economy.
   This time the article in question was children's toy jewelry that contained hazardous amounts of lead.
   CBP officers examined the shipment in Chicago along with a local CPSC investigator and seized it when a sample tested by CPSC was found to exceed permitted levels for children's toys. Lead in toys is especially dangerous for children because they often put toys and hands in their mouths. Lead is known to harm brain function.
   The shipment, which had a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $340,000, came from China. The Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center for Import Safety in Washington analyzed the shipping documents and other data and flagged the jewelry shipment for inspection because of concerns there could be a compliance problem, CBP said.
   The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 requires importers to test and certify that imports of children's products are in compliance with CPSC requirements. It is unlawful to import into the U.S. any children's product that contains lead with more than 90 parts per million of lead paint or more than 300 parts per million of total lead content.
   Experts from the CPSC and other agencies are co-located at CBP's Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center to share information and make quick determinations about imports that should receive extra scrutiny.
   Last month, CBP and the CPSC seized 261,000 cigarette lighters from France because they did not have required child-safety mechanisms.