The existing system for consumer product safety, like many other federal programs and policies, has evolved in a piecemeal fashion. New laws and agencies have been established over time, resulting in a patchwork system with different agencies having different regulatory and enforcement authorities for different consumer products. Consumer product safety activities can include setting standards and conducting enforcement, product recalls, rulemaking, and risk assessment. Below is a brief overview of some of the key laws that provide agencies with the authority to conduct consumer product safety oversight. Pre-Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) laws: Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, first enacted in 1938 to replace the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, provides FDA with various public health responsibilities, including to ensure the safety and effectiveness of medical products—drugs, biologics, and medical devices—and safety of cosmetics marketed in the United States. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended, mandates FDA to, among other things, conduct pre-market reviews of the safety of all new drugs, as well as pre-market approval of some medical devices. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act provides for the federal regulation of pesticides. While various versions of a federal pesticide statute have been in place since 1910, Congress enacted substantial amendments to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in 1972. Under the current version of FIFRA, pesticides must generally be registered (licensed) by EPA before they may be sold or distributed in the United States. EPA may register a pesticide if it finds, among other things, that use of the pesticide will not generally cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment. When EPA registers a pesticide, it approves directions for use of the pesticide, which must appear on the product label and be followed by users of the pesticide. The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 established an agency which, under the Highway Safety Act of 1970, later became the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act authorizes NHTSA to, among other things, promulgate federal safety standards for motor vehicles and equipment. The Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971 authorizes the Coast Guard (within the Department of Homeland Security) to, among other things, establish minimum safety standards for recreational vessels and associated equipment and to require the installation or use of such equipment. The act was created to improve boating safety, to authorize the establishment of national construction and performance standards for boats and associated equipment, and to encourage greater uniformity of boating laws and regulations among states and the federal government. CPSA and post-CPSA laws: The CPSA, first enacted in 1972, establishes CPSC and consolidates federal safety regulatory activity relating to consumer products within the agency. CPSC is authorized to protect the public against unreasonable risks of injury associated with consumer products in general, and also to administer other laws such as those governing fabric flammability, hazardous substances, child-resistant packaging, refrigerators, pool and spa safety, and toy safety. Congress enacted the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in 2008 to strengthen CPSC’s authority to enforce safety standards and provide greater public access to product safety information. The Toxic Substances Control Act, first enacted in 1976, authorizes EPA to obtain more information on chemicals and to regulate those chemicals that EPA determines pose unreasonable risks to human health or the environment. chemicals already in commerce as well as chemicals yet to enter commerce. In addition, under the Toxic Substances Control Act, EPA can regulate the manufacture (including import), processing, distribution in commerce, use, or disposal of “chemical substances” and “mixtures,” including for use as or as part of a consumer product. Toxic Substances Control Act, Pub. L. No. 94-469, 90 Stat. 2003 (1976). CPSA defines a consumer product, for purposes of CPSC’s jurisdiction, as “any article, or component part thereof, produced or distributed (i) for sale to a consumer for use in or around a permanent or temporary household or residence, a school, in recreation, or otherwise, or (ii) for the personal use, consumption or enjoyment of a consumer in or around a permanent or temporary household or residence, a school, in recreation, or otherwise,” subject to a number of exclusions. By statute, certain categories of products that are regulated by other agencies are excluded from the definition of “consumer product,” and therefore CPSC does not have jurisdiction over them. For purposes of our report, because we are looking at consumer products broadly rather than solely those in CPSC’s jurisdiction, we use the broader definition of “consumer product,” without the statutory exclusions. We include in our purview motor vehicles, pesticides, cosmetics, and some other products that CPSA excludes from its definition of a consumer product. In 2010, Congress directed us to identify programs, agencies, offices, and initiatives with duplicative goals and activities within departments and government-wide and report to Congress annually. Since March 2011, we have issued annual reports to Congress in response to this requirement.evidence of fragmentation, overlap, or duplication among federal programs. The annual reports define fragmentation, overlap, and duplication as shown in figure 1. We identified 8 agencies that have direct oversight responsibility for various aspects of consumer product safety, based on our analyses of data collected from our questionnaire and interviews with agency officials. In addition, we identified at least 12 other agencies that have an indirect role in consumer product safety oversight. We distinguished agencies with direct versus indirect responsibility by whether they perform certain regulatory activities, as well as by how the agencies self-identified in their interviews. Eight agencies reported that they have direct oversight responsibilities for consumer product safety: the Coast Guard; CPSC; Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); EPA; FDA; NHTSA; Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). We considered an agency to have a direct oversight role if it met two criteria: (1) in its response to our questionnaire, the agency noted having statutory authority over consumer product safety through one or more of five regulatory activities— rulemaking, standard setting, enforcement, risk assessment, and product recalls; and (2) in subsequent interviews and follow-up discussions, the agency confirmed that it views itself as having a role in overseeing the We describe the oversight roles of these safety of consumer products.agencies in table 1. Some of these agencies oversee products, whereas others oversee components that might be found within a product (e.g., chemical substances or radioactive materials). These eight agencies conduct a range of regulatory activities related to consumer product safety, including rulemaking, standard setting, enforcement, risk assessment, and product recalls. Rulemaking, standard setting, and enforcement. All eight agencies reported conducting rulemaking, standard-setting, and enforcement activities. As an example of rulemaking, CPSC recently issued a final rule establishing a safety standard for strollers and infant carriages. CPSC issued the rule in response to a provision of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which required CPSC to promulgate consumer product safety standards for durable infant or toddler products. The rule incorporates by reference the most recent voluntary standard developed by ASTM International, a standard- setting organization. The standard includes requirements for improved test methods of various parts (e.g., brakes, wheels) and warning label clarifications. In an example of enforcement, PHMSA inspects consumer commodity shipments. PHMSA staff stated that they coordinate with other agencies to identify where hazardous substances are coming from and where they are going. In another enforcement example, under the Toxic Substances Control Act, EPA can initiate civil actions to seize an imminently hazardous substance, mixture, or any article containing such a substance or mixture. Risk assessment. Six of the eight agencies reported conducting risk assessments, whereas PHMSA did not and the Coast Guard reported that its authority in this area is unclear. As an example of risk assessment, EPA recently conducted an assessment for a flea and tick pet collar using the insecticide propoxur. EPA’s risk assessment found, in some but not all use scenarios, unacceptable risks to children from exposure to propoxur pet collars. EPA noted that small children may ingest pesticide residues when they touch a treated cat or dog and subsequently put their hands in their mouths. EPA and the manufacturers agreed to do a voluntary cancellation of the product based on concerns that the residue on animals can be dangerous for children. The Coast Guard noted that its authority to conduct risk assessments is unclear. A Coast Guard official explained that statutory authority allows the Coast Guard to establish whether, according to their reasonable and prudent judgment, a defect creates a substantial risk of personal injury. Product recalls. Six of the eight agencies reported having regulatory authority to recall certain products under their jurisdiction, whereas NRC and PHMSA did not. As an example of a product recall, an official from the Coast Guard noted that the agency works with manufacturers and conducts between 10 and 20 recall campaigns annually of recreational boats, equipment originally installed on boats, and limited equipment installed after purchase. The Coast Guard officials recently worked with Honda, which has stopped manufacturing personal watercraft, when the company found it had a problem with boats it manufactured from 2002 through 2008. The manufacturer is now recalling these boats for possible fuel tank failure. The Coast Guard stated that it does not actually conduct the recalls but records the recalls and monitors the progress that the manufacturer completes in the performance of the recalls. According to the agency, once regulatory noncompliance or a substantial risk defect is discovered, the manufacturer normally voluntarily registers the recall campaign with the Coast Guard and performs the recall in accordance with statutory requirements and the Coast Guard regulations regarding recall notification.