In 1972, the United States Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Act in order to decrease the amount of injuries and deaths as a result of consumer product defects.
History
Prior to 1972, safety and production standards for American manufacturers were set on a state-by-state basis. This resulted in products meeting standards in certain states, but not others. The need for uniform federal standards became apparent and the Consumer Product Safety Act resulted.
Features
The Act established the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and empowered the independent agency to set and develop uniform standards of safety. It also charged the agency with issuing recalls for products that do not meet standards or are otherwise deemed hazardous.
Effects
The CPSC has worked to balance the dual needs of safety for American consumers and economic expedience for manufacturers. It sets standards and monitors compliance on more than 15,000 consumer products. The Commission also spearheaded the banning of the use of lead in children's toys.
Significance
A study showed that consumer product-related injuries fell 28 percent, with deaths falling 27 percent in the nine years following the establishment of the CPSC. The Commission has more than 100 investigators across the country and conducts research on potentially hazardous products.
Criticism
The CPSC has taken criticism for being either too late to issue recalls on a number of consumer products that have injured or contributed to people's deaths.
