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Illinois passes tougher lead laws

October 01, 2009

Springfield, Ill.--The state of Illinois has amended its Lead Poisoning Prevention Act to include a warning-label requirement for certain products for children ages 12 and under, including jewelry, with lead content that falls below the current 300 parts per million (ppm) limit, Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America (MJSA) reports.

Set to take effect on Jan. 1, the law would require these products with lead levels below 300 ppm but above 40 ppm to have a label with the following language: "Warning: Contains lead. May be harmful if eaten or chewed. May generate dust containing lead."

MJSA warns that the new Illinois law could undermine the preemption of the federal Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).

Changes in the CPSIA took effect in August and lowered the general limit on lead content in children's products, including jewelry, that's crafted of base metals such as lead, copper, stainless steel, nickel, tin or brass, to 300 ppm from 600 ppm.

Precious metals and gemstones are exempt under the CPSIA.

The law, which is intended to preempt most state laws concerning lead content, mandates that jewelry designers and manufacturers must certify through third-party testing at a Consumer Product Safety Commission-accredited lab that their products meet the new standards.

In addition, the CPSIA requires that children's items, including precious-metal jewelry, even though it's exempt from the testing requirement, bear tracking information.

For pieces too small to be marked, such information can be included on the packaging.

Small-sized manufacturers aren't required to create a labeling system under the CPSIA as long as they keep adequate records.

While this federal law is intended to override all state laws, according to MJSA, the Illinois attorney general and legislature don't think their amendment conflicts with the CPSIA because the CPSIA doesn't address warning labels, only tracking labels.

Manufacturers and importers that don't conform with the new warning-label requirement run the risk of a lawsuit in Illinois, attorney John W. Moss told MJSA. Moss is based in the Washington, D.C. office of the law firm Winston and Strawn.

Though the CPSC could step in and argue that Illinois' new law should be preempted by the CPSIA, Moss said most likely the issue will be resolved in court and, unfortunately, the current trend is for judges to rule against various federal preemptions of state product safety laws, MJSA reports.

As for how the new Illinois law relates to precious metals and gems that are exempt under the CPSIA, it is likely that precious-metal jewelry suppliers will find that their products contain less than the 40 ppm Illinois limit, according to MJSA.

However, they still might be asked to test the material to ensure it doesn't require a label.

MJSA will continue to monitor the Illinois labeling law.

For a full text of the law, click here.

For MJSA's "Lowering Lead" guide, visit MJSA.org.
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