I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5920 

To prohibit the manufacture, sale, or distribution in commerce of children’s 

products containing excessive cadmium, chromium, barium, or antimony, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 29, 2010 

Ms. SPEIER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To prohibit the manufacture, sale, or distribution in commerce of children’s products containing excessive cadmium, chromium, barium, or antimony, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Toxic Metals Protec5 tion Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ANTIMONY.—The term ‘‘antimony’’ means 

2 elemental antimony and any compounds or alloys 

3 which contain antimony. 

4 (2) BARIUM.—The term ‘‘barium’’ means ele5 mental barium and any compounds or alloys which 

6 contain barium. 

7 (3) CADMIUM.—The term ‘‘cadmium’’ means 

8 elemental cadmium and any compounds or alloys 

9 which contain cadmium. 

10 (4) CHILDREN’S PRODUCT.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘children’s 

12 product’’ means a product designed or intended 

13 to be worn or used by children 12 years of age 

14 or younger and sold or distributed at retail. 

15 (B) DETERMINATION OF INTENTION FOR

16 WEAR OR USE BY CHILDREN.—In determining 

17 under subparagraph (A) whether a product is 

18 designed or intended for wear or use by chil19 dren 12 years of age or younger, the following 

20 factors shall be considered: 

21 (i) A statement by a manufacturer 

22 about the intended use of the product if 

23 such statement is reasonable. 

24 (ii) Any label on the product. 


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1 (iii) Whether the product is rep2 resented in its packaging, display, pro3 motion, or advertising as appropriate for 

4 children 12 years of age or younger. 

5 (iv) Whether the product is commonly 

6 recognized by consumers as being intended 

7 for use by children 12 years of age or 

8 younger. 

9 (v) The Age Determination Guide10 lines: Relating Children’s Ages to Toy 

11 Characteristics and Play Behavior, issued 

12 by the Commission in September 2002, 

13 and any modifications to such Guidelines. 

14 (5) CHROMIUM.—The term ‘‘chromium’’ means 

15 elemental chromium and any compounds or alloys 

16 which contain chromium. 

17 (6) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

18 means the Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

19 (7) SOLD OR DISTRIBUTED AT RETAIL.—The 

20 term ‘‘sold or distributed at retail’’ means sold or 

21 distributed to a consumer. 


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1 SEC. 3. BAN ON CHILDREN’S PRODUCTS CONTAINING CER2 TAIN LEVELS OF ANTIMONY, BARIUM, CAD3 MIUM, OR CHROMIUM. 

4 (a) PROHIBITION.—No person may manufacture for 

5 sale, offer for sale, or distribute in commerce any chil6 dren’s product containing compounds of antimony, bar7 ium, cadmium, or chromium of which the metal content 

8 of the soluble material is in excess of the maximum soluble 

9 migrated element in parts per million as follows: 

10 (1) 60 parts per million for antimony. 

11 (2) 1,000 parts per million for barium. 

12 (3) 75 parts per million for cadmium. 

13 (4) 60 parts per million for chromium. 

14 (b) PENALTIES.—Any failure of a person to comply 

15 with subsection (a) shall be treated as a violation of sec16 tion 4 of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 

17 U.S.C. 1263) and subject to the penalties set forth in sec18 tion 5 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 1264). 

19 SEC. 4. ALTERNATIVE MEASURES OF HEAVY METAL CON20 TENT. 

21 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

22 of this Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission 

23 shall establish a measurement standard for antimony, bar24 ium, cadmium, and chromium based on a units-of-mass25 per-area standard that is statistically comparable to the 

26 parts-per-million measurement standard currently used. 


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1 SEC. 5. REPORTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

3 date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

4 the Commission shall submit to Congress a report on the 

5 actions taken by the Commission to enforce the provisions 

6 of this Act, including a summary of the criminal and civil 

7 penalties imposed under section 3(b). 

8 (b) HEAVY METALS.—Not later than one year after 

9 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 

10 shall submit a report to Congress regarding heavy metals 

11 that should be banned from children’s products. 

12 SEC. 6. EFFECT ON FEDERAL AND STATE LAW. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act or section 

14 18(b)(1)(B) of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 

15 U.S.C. 1261 note) shall preempt the authority of any 

16 State or political subdivision of a State to establish or con17 tinue in effect a provision of the law of a State or political 

18 subdivision of a State relating to regulation of products 

19 containing chromium, cadmium, barium, or antimony, ex20 cept to the extent that compliance with both State and 

21 Federal law is impossible. Nothing in this section shall be 

22 construed to modify or affect any enforcement action or 

23 liability of any person under the law of any State. 

24 (b) PRESERVATION OF CERTAIN STATE LAW.—Noth25 ing in this Act shall be construed to preempt or otherwise 

26 affect any warning requirement relating to consumer prodVerDate Mar 15 2010 20:59 Jul 30, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5920.IH H5920

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1 ucts or substances that is established pursuant to State 

2 law that was in effect on August 31, 2003. 

3 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

4 This Act shall take effect on the date of the enact5 ment of this Act and shall apply with respect to children’s 

6 products manufactured on or after the date that is 90 

7 days after such date of enactment. 

Æ 


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