Details of CPSC Draft Proposed Rule on Public Product Safety Database

The draft proposed rule would interpret the various Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 requirements pertaining to the establishment and maintenance of such a database.

(See ITT's Online Archives or 04/05/10 news, 10040510, for BP summary of CPSC posting this and other draft proposed rules to its website.)

Database Would Include Reports of Harm, Recall Info, Manufacturer Comments

As required by the CPSIA, the database would include reports of harm as well as manufacturer (includes importer) or private labeler comments on these reports. A "report of harm" would be defined as any information submitted to CPSC regarding an incident concerning an injury, illness or death, or any risk of injury, illness or death as determined by CPSC relating to the use of the consumer product.

The database would also include information derived by CPSC from mandatory or voluntary recall notices and any "additional information" that CPSC believes would be in the public interest, such as information to help database users to understand a risk of harm; identify a consumer product; or identify a manufacturer or private labeler.

(The draft proposed rule would establish provisions regarding: (i) submission of reports of harm; (ii) providing notice of reports of harm to manufacturers; (iii) publishing reports of harm and manufacturer comments in the database; and (iv)procedures for identifying and dealing with confidential and materially inaccurate information.)

10 Days for Manufacturer to Submit Comments on Report of Harm

Reports of harm would be transmitted to the manufacturer (includes importer) or private labeler to the extent practicable within five business days after CPSC receives them. Reports of harm would be published in the database as soon as practicable, but no later than 10 days after a report is transmitted by CPSC to the manufacturer.

CPSC would publish manufacturer comments that meet certain minimum requirements at the same time as it publishes the report of harm.

(Among other things, the manufacturer (including importer) or private labeler's comment must relate to information contained in a specific report of harm that identifies such manufacturer or private labeler. The comments must also verify that the manufacturer/labeler has reviewed the report of harm and its own comment related to it and that the information contained in the comment is true and accurate to the best of the firm's knowledge.)

Anyone Could Ask CPSC to Delete/Correct Materially Inaccurate Info

The draft would allow any person or entity to request that a report of harm or manufacturer (including importer) or private labeler comment or portions thereof be excluded from the database or corrected by CPSC because such report or comment contains materially inaccurate information.

"Materially inaccurate information" would be defined as information that is inaccurate or misleading in a relevant and sufficiently significant way such that it creates or has the potential to create substantial confusion among database users. Such assertions would have to be accompanied by supporting information.

If CPSC were to make a determination of material inaccuracy, it may: (i) decline to add the materially inaccurate report of harm or manufacturer comment to the database; (ii) correct the materially inaccurate information; or (iii) add information to the report of harm to correct the materially inaccurate information.

(See ITT's Online Archives or 12/23/09 and 11/12/09 news, 09122315 and 09111210, for BP summaries of CPSC announcement of a workshop on the database and its listening to industry concerns about the database, respectively.

See ITT's Online Archives or 09/15/09 news, 09091515, for BP summary of CPSC's report to Congress on its plans for the public database.)

CPSC ballot vote sheet and draft proposed rule on public database (posted 04/02/10) available at http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia10/brief/databasenpr.pdf