I 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4767 
To amend the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act to exempt ordinary 
books and paper-based printed material from the lead limit in such Act. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 4, 2010 
Mr. FORTENBERRY (for himself and Mr. SHULER) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act 
to exempt ordinary books and paper-based printed mate-
rial from the lead limit in such Act. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) the Consumer Product Safety Improvement 
Act of 2008 (CPSIA) sought to protect children 
from the dangers associated with products con-
taining unreasonable levels of lead, by imposing lead 
standards and testing requirements; 
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(2) the Consumer Product Safety Commission 
has interpreted the Act to apply to all children’s 
books and other printed materials; 
(3) the Act was not intended to apply to ordi-
nary books and paper-based materials—those books 
and materials that are published on paper or card-
board and printed by conventional publishing meth-
ods; 
(4) comprehensive testing of finished books and 
their component materials that are used for printed 
material has found total lead content at levels con-
sidered non-detectable, or 10 ppm, well below the 
thresholds in CPSIA; 
(5) the book and printed material manufac-
turing process is now standardized across the United 
States and much of the world; 
(6) the publishers and printers in the United 
States as well as much of the world do not use lead- 
based chemicals or other materials in the manufac-
turing of ordinary books and paper-based printed 
material, meeting standards promulgated by the Co-
alition of Northeastern Governors; 
(7) the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-
tion have determined there is minimal risk to chil-
dren from trace amounts of lead in ordinary books 
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and printed products produced by the same proc-
esses using the same component materials; and 
(8) reading books and using other printed ma-
terial is critical to child development and education 
and schools and libraries operating under limited 
budgets provide millions of children with free access 
to ordinary books, and yet despite the lack of evi-
dence that their books contain harmful levels of lead, 
libraries and other organizations may have to re-
strict access to children’s books due to the burdens 
and uncertainties associated with CPSIA’s new lead 
levels and testing requirements. 
SEC. 2. EXEMPTION FOR ORDINARY BOOKS AND PRINTED 
MATERIALS. 
Section 101 of the Consumer Product Safety Im-
provement Act (15 U.S.C. 1278a) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(h) EXCLUSION FOR ORDINARY BOOKS AND PAPER- 
BASED PRINTED MATERIALS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The limits established 
under subsection (a) shall not apply to ordinary 
books or paper-based printed materials. 
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this sub-
section— 
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‘‘(A) the term ‘ordinary books’ means 
books printed on paper or cardboard, printed 
with inks or toners and bound and finished 
using a conventional method, which are in-
tended to be read or have educational value; 
and 
‘‘(B) the term ‘ordinary paper-based mate-
rials’ means materials printed on paper or card-
board, such as magazines, posters, greeting 
cards, and similar products that are printed 
with inks or toners and bound and finished 
using a conventional method. 
Such terms do not include books or printed mate-
rials that are printed on material other than paper 
or cardboard or contain non-paper based compo-
nents such as metal or plastic parts or accessories 
that are not part of the binding and finishing mate-
rials used in a conventional method.’’. 
Æ 
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