en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/357897 Comments by DeputyHeadmiss http://www.davidniallwilson.com/the-cpsia-apparently-they-can-be-that-stupid#IDComment17187986 Great follow-up! Congress keeps saying they never intended to include books, and perhaps they didn't. But they seem embarrassingly unfamiliar with the accepted definition of the word 'ALL,' then, as in, "ALL products intended primarily for the use of children 12 and under..." This law also places the government in the role of censor, as it's not enough for the manufacturer, author, publisher, seller, to slap a 13 and over label on the product- the government must agree that they think the product is for 13 and older rather than 12 and younger. Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:18:54 +0000 http://www.davidniallwilson.com/the-cpsia-apparently-they-can-be-that-stupid#IDComment17187986 http://www.davidniallwilson.com/burning-books-for-consumer-safety-really#IDComment17112642 Thank-you for addressing this issue. Some of us have been crying out about this since we heard of it in January, and we feel like voices calling in the wilderness. Sadly, It is not a 'misunderstanding' and Congress has no intention of withdrawing it. Commissioner Moore of the CPSC called for libraries to 'sequester' older books for children 12 and under, and since the law calls for the banning of any children's product which contains lead without any consideration for risk assessment, the CPSC has little option- and they very specifically stated that they would not fine or arrest anybody for selling books printed AFTER 1985. The worst consequence is NOT the reaction of those who have read the law and listened to their legal counsel and paid attention to what Congress stubbornly refuses to do (call a meeting and pass the reform bills before them)- the worst consequence is the bill itself and all the good things it destroys without any corresponding increase in safety. The law calls for the destruction (as toxic waste) of all products found to have lead in them over the ridiculously low levels of 300 ppm (as of August)- *regardless* of whether the lead has ever poisoned a child or could poison a child, and tragically, that includes children's books printed before 1985. And the testing? What if a pre-1985 book tests are free of lead? It's a moot point for most second hand booksellers, as the third party testing required by law generally destroys the product- irrelevant if you are a maker of 10,000 duplicate plastic bathtub books. But if you are the seller of one copy of a pre-1985 edition of Taran Wanderer, or Miss Suzie, The King with Six Friends, or Arthur Ransome's Russian Fairy Tales, or one of the Green Knowe books- you cannot afford to test it because you can't recoup the cost of testing, and you would destroy the book anyway in the process of the wet testing required by law. Sequestering the books. Disposing of them as 'toxic waste.' This is madness, and every week something new comes out and I learn it's even worse than I thought. Last week the Commission posted a pdf file of a power point presentation for training- and on the sixth page without explanation they dismissed concerns about books by stating they had no useful life after 20 years anyway. Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:28:49 +0000 http://www.davidniallwilson.com/burning-books-for-consumer-safety-really#IDComment17112642