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We’re always on the lookout for news about the latest lead laws and how they’re affecting businesses of all sizes. When this story appeared in the MetroWest Daily News last week, it caught my eye since this is right in our backyard here in Massachusetts. In the article, reporter David Riley talks to toy importer Rob Wilson, whose company Challenge and Fun sells games and other children’s products. Riley says that along with other small toy manufacturers, shop owners and distributors, Wilson’s been calling for changes to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act since Congress passed it last year.

As I said before, lead can be dangerous when absorbed in the body, which is why we have strict standards regulating how much of it is acceptable to include in different types of consumer products and equipment. So at first glance, the folks who created the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act have the right intentions, and the spirit of this act is right on track. That being said, Wilson has a point, too. Concerns raised by groups like the Handmade Toy Alliance and The Alliance for Children’s Product Safety should be taken seriously.

So where does this leave us? Who’s right and who’s wrong? Well, both sides have got it right. But the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act alone is not what these toy makers and shop owners should be questioning and frustrated with. I suspect these businesses will be truly grateful when we launch iD-Prime in the coming weeks, and the market for XrF tools is opened up to finally address businesses with smaller budgets. The reality is that XrF tools and tests are so expensive for these smaller businesses that this frustration is what’s fueling most of the criticism with the law. So I wonder: is the CPSIA really the problem? Or is the real issue the fact that XrF tools today are built for scientists and huge corporations that can afford to invest $30-60,000 on a piece of equipment? Something needs to be done to bridge the gap for these smaller players…and that’s exactly why we decided to launch i-Nalysis.

=Drew

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